I admit it…I’ve been a bit of a perfectionist, and I secretly expect myself to be the A+ student all the time, delighting my teachers and fellow human beings…even though I was never an A+ student when I was a student. Reality check: While I’m smart and talented, I’ve always been more like a B average student, I never got in the National Honor Society even though almost everyone I was friends with did, and between high school and college, I’ve failed more than one class. I’ve had at least a 30 year career majoring in procrastination, and of late, I’m pretty sure I could get a double minor in overwhelm and freezing. While I’ve worked on my procrastination over the years and am better than I was, I still find myself in patterns where I shut down, or don’t feel like doing anything.
Maybe that’s ok, and I’d functioned from that place at times, forgiving myself for retreating or just doing the day to day of life, without fully engaging. That can serve for a period of time, and in the end, you’re still no further forward than you were. Just more time has gone by. Thanks to a friend who mentored me for a moment or two during our recent mastermind gathering, I remembered the simple fact that I must take actions every day, no matter how small. Little steps add up over time. Lao Tzu said it best, when he said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. If we continue to take these small actions and steps every day, after a period of time, we look back and realize just how far we’ve come.
So I wanted to share something that I’ve started doing that helps to put me in the right mental mindset. Each day, I have begun to record each step that I am taking in my business (which you could call my dream). No matter how small, I write down each step. For example, I don’t just write down that I updated my Google Business listing; I write that I added new pictures, I deleted the old listings, I deleted old pictures…you get the idea. I celebrate each and every win. I hold space for how much work I did, even if I “know” I could have done more, or that there is a lot more to do. At the end of the day, I have a running list of all of the little steps that I took. It helps me to focus on all the positive things that I did, rather than focus on how much there is left. I keep the list in my Notes app on my phone, and add to it each day. Then I can also see what I’ve accomplished in a week, or two weeks. I find myself inspired and excited to add more to the list- pushed to even do so…can I add just one more thing? So I do a little more. If left to just coast, I may not have done anything, or less. By documenting my progress, I’m finding that I naturally compete against myself to see if I can do more than the day before, or at least a little more than I’ve already done that day. Right now, I’m in part pushing to finish this blog post so that I can mark it off on today’s accomplishments versus tomorrow’s.
It’s no small feat that I am staying consistent with this practice. I am someone who has in the past (and sometimes still has) a hard time letting go of thinking about the one thing that went wrong, or the one person that doesn’t appreciate me, rather than looking up and seeing all of the support and magic that is surrounding me. But there is no perfect in real life. There is an A+, but it’s far from perfect. It’s messy, and the result of fully living the life that God put you on the planet to live. It’s full of heartache, challenges, deaths, births, rebirths, joy, ecstasy, fear, grief, worry, anger, and anything else within the full range of human emotion…because it’s just that, a human experience. It’s up to each of us to do our best, and choose what serves in each moment. I’m choosing with my moments to focus on what brings me alive- what is my destiny and why I came to this planet at this time in history. And I’m keeping laser focused at that. I can no longer afford to waste time. I have to keep taking steps forward, no matter how seemingly small. Because one day I’ll look back and realize just how far I’ve come.
I invite each of you to write down and celebrate your wins each day. Let’s focus on the gifts and progress so that we may build the energy of our dreams and purpose on this planet.
Much love,
Jen
Recent Comments