Written by: Jesi Carroll, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Here’s the thing. It can be easy to feel afraid of taking steps towards the things we want in life.
It’s overwhelming, the outcome isn’t guaranteed, and committing to something unknown can feel like a huge risk.
It can become catastrophized quickly.
Or maybe someone has helped you to lay out all the action steps in digestible, bite-sized chunks?
Now it’s about the motivation to see it through. “Do I really want this?” “Do I have the grit?” “How do I know if this is something or THE THING I should spend my time on?”
Making moves in life towards our goals can feel all-consuming and because of that, the movement can feel slow or like it’s not happening at all.
But I want you to remember this famous saying:
It’s all about the journey, not the destination.
When we don’t enjoy the process of our goals, it makes life miserable and has us questioning if the goal is even worth it.
However, if we DO enjoy the process of achieving our goals, we tend to achieve them faster and with a fire lit inside of us.
A fire that keeps the motivation burning long past the first goal so we can continue to the next one.
Here are my top 3 tips for moving towards your next goal in a more enjoyable (and dare I say FUN) way:
1. Release the Black and White, All or Nothing Mentality:
By this I mean saying things like, “𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.” Or “𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮.” Or “𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺.”
It’s all scarcity thinking.
You see, a leap towards our goals can be as big or as little as we want. We don’t need to sacrifice everything, and in an instant at that.
(𝘖𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘘𝘜𝘈𝘕𝘛𝘜𝘔 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦).
If we can see life as a marathon and not a sprint, we become reassured that small action steps made consistently over time are what changes the game.
2. Stop Doing What You Think Everyone Else is Doing:
For instance, social media has many feelings that instant success is a thing. Therefore, we see a lot of comparisons and living out of integrity to re-create what seems to be working for another in the hopes of achieving faster.
This can lead to people screwing themselves over and quitting all means of stability to go all-in on their dreams. (I am guilty of this because someone once told me “If you have a plan B, you don’t have a plan A” and I lived by it).
You do not need to hustle until you can’t function anymore to make up for the stability you just took yourself out of.
Try planning on the side of what you’re currently doing. You’d be amazed at what one thing per day in the direction of you want can add up to over the course of a month, 6 months, a year, etc.
3. Guess and Make a Move.
One Inch of Action is Stronger than a Mile of Intention.
If you don’t know what to do, it’s time to guess and give something a try. It’s time to start making actual movements. Otherwise, you will be stuck in the thinking, researching, longing, and waiting phase forever.
Even if you guess wrong and end up moving in a completely weird direction that you realized wasn’t right, doing this will never be a failure. Instead, it will allow you to learn quickly while creating clarity at the same time.
One thing that helps me to feel better after making one move towards something I desire is to attach a reward to the thing.
Upon completion of the task, I allow myself something to look forward to. This inspiration keeps me going when the going gets annoying/tough.
(Some of my favorite rewards: taking a bath, taking myself to a restaurant I’ve been wanting to try, extended time outside, eating the snack I held off on, watching a new movie, a nap, listening to a new album, playing a new podcast episode, etc.) But ANYTHING goes! These are just a few ideas to get you moving towards your goals, but there’s one more thing I want you to know.
There IS a light at the end of your tunnel. I promise you this. And if you need help and guidance to figure that out, there is no shame in asking for it.
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Jesi Carroll, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jesi, certified Life Design Coach, specializes in mentoring career driven women to find more fulfillment in their life as she guides them through the navigation of chaos on the way to purpose. Having spent over 6 years working at some of the biggest corporations in the world as a Recruiter, she is a master relationship builder and understands how to help people achieve high levels of success while maintaining integrity along the way. She's ready to combine her career success strategies with her 10+ years of psychology and personal development education to show you how to have it all!
She offers 1on1 Life Coaching, Mindset and Self-Love Healing, Career Transition Guidance, and Self-Purpose Discovery. It's time to heal at the soul level and get back to who you were truly meant to be!
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