Tag Archives: goals

Go Outside. Now!

Posted on by
1

Hiking in RPV

I don’t know about you, but I hate the gym. It’s not that I’m lazy (ok, sometimes I am), but I just don’t like the repetition of doing the exact same thing day in and day out, no matter how many new fangled machines there are. My beef with the gym boils down to one thing–I get bored. Quickly. So, with a birthday looming, I’ve been looking for ways to get healthier without stepping foot in the YMCA.

While I own (and shhhh, have downloaded) a plethora of workout DVDs, they also bore the hell out of me. Last year I managed to make it through Level 1 of Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred, but I haven’t been consistant or finished the program since then. No matter how much motivation I have starting out, I can’t get over the fact that by the end of the week, I can quote each “joke,” motivational tip, and command. Which, again, leaves me feeling completely bored and uninspired to do it again.

So….what do you do when you hate the gym and workout DVDs get annoying very easily? You head outdoors!

A few weeks ago Le Kid and I took an impromptu trip to Griffith Park to hike and have a picnic. Despite grabbing onto me for dear life for the first half of the trip because he thought he was going to fall off the side of the mountain (he wasn’t even close), we ended up having a really good time. We had an “adventure” and although it was tough, when we got home I I found myself Googling other local spots for hikes. I found one near me in Rancho Palos Verdes and have been back several times to get it in.

Although I’m not the “outdoorsy” type (no camping, fishing, etc.) I really enjoy going out for hikes. Yes, I feel like I’m going to die when I’m (slowly) making my way up a hill, but at the end, I feel accomplished and the view is just so damn pretty I can barely take it.

These hikes have also given me some time to connect with God, organize my thoughts, and just be generally thankful for how my life is shaping up.

How could I NOT appreciate this view of the Pacific?

Last week was a mentally difficult one. I was waiting to be paid for several articles I’d written, I was beginning to doubt my choices (again), and I was wondering how I’ll reach my ideal life if I’m so drained from working so hard for others (yes, even as a freelancer). Instead of completely throwing in the towel, my hikes gave me an opportunity to remember all of the things that were going right and that I had to be thankful for. I mean, it’s hard to be depressed when you’re out on a brilliantly clear day with the ocean staring you in the face.

But what I also realized is that while my body is getting healthier and stronger, these hikes serve to strengthen my mental resolve as well, and for a freelancer or anyone working toward a really big, seemingly impossible goal, this is key.

Reaching your goals takes an unlimited amount of mental fortitude. It’s not easy to strike out and dedicate your whole self to your goals. The what-if-I-fail thoughts will kick in. Negativity from those you hoped would have your back happens. And you begin to question what the hell you’re actually doing. You ask yourself what makes you so special that you think that you will make it when many others have tried and failed.

I get it. I’ve been there. Hell, I am there. But what I know to be true is just as much time and effort we put into reaching our goals, we need to also put as much time and effort into taking care of our mental and physical selves while we’re trying to reach them. In the end, there’s no use of making it to the top and being too depressed, disgruntled, or too unhealthy to enjoy it.

How do you make sure you’re taking care of your mental & physical help while you work toward your goals? 

~~

Want more #GOALdigging tips and trick? Sign up for my new site, BritniDanielle.com. Together we’ll build a supportive army of GOAL-diggers and dream-chasers so we’ll all reach our goals together.

Why Wait?

Posted on by
2

“So many fail because they don’t get started, they don’t go. They don’t overcome inertia. They don’t begin.” – W. Clement Stone

Getting started is tough. Believe me, I get it.  Once we get our “great idea” or set our ambitious goals we talk a good game, we plan forever, we brainstorm incessantly…but we wait for things to be just so, to be perfect, before we begin. And then…just like that, we never get started.

And soon, before we know it, weeks, months, and years have passed by and we just wasted a whole lot of time waiting until things were just right before we began working on our goals. But as you already know, things will never be perfect. Perfection is an illusion.

I was speaking to a Facebook pal the other day when she mentioned a blog project she is working on. Although she had been toiling away for some time, she wasn’t quite ready to release her baby to the world because it wasn’t perfect. While I totally understand, waiting until her blog was amazingly designed or until she collected all of her thoughts into an assemblage of kick-ass blog posts meant it was never going to happen.

Like anything…you have to overcome the inertia and just get started…even if things aren’t quite in order.

After she showed me her blog, I didn’t understand why she was waiting. Her idea was DOPE and it needed to be shared. But still she had doubts. Like so many others, she was stuck in the perfection trap.

But thankfully, there is a very simple way to get out of it.

JUST DO IT!

On his blog, the Art of Non-conformity, Chis Guillebeau suggest folks set a deadline to begin working toward their goals/projects, and then shorten it.

He writes, “Find a way to launch your project within 30 days of conceiving it. If that feels uncomfortable, make it 3 days.”

Making yourself uncomfortable often causes you to feel a sense of urgency, which will help you overcome the inertia and begin taking actual steps toward your goal.

About a year ago, I bought BritniDanielle.com and planned to unveil it to the world…one day. After a year of putting in work for others trying to kick my freelance career into gear, I decided it was past time to put in the same amount of work for myself.

But after weeks of toiling around, looking for WordPress themes, color schemes, and playing with Photoshop, I decided to just roll it out to the world. To do this, I created a sign-up page to let people know when it is going to go live and—although I never thought I wanted to ever write one—I’m working on a very short ebooklet that will explain what my site will be all about—helping others reach their goals while I work toward mine.

Will it be perfect from the beginning? Certainly not, but just getting started is the best way for me to get as close to perfect as I can get. Because inaction, certainly won’t get me any closer to the life that I want.

Have you been procrastinating on something you’ve wanted to do? What’s stopping you from just getting started?  

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Posted on by
5

Have you thought about an idea so long it became apart of you? Even if you tried to escape it, you couldn’t run fast enough. And even when you procrastinated on it or filled your life up with so many other things that took your attention off of the idea, it still sat there, waiting for you you in those quiet moments right before you went to sleep?

Have you ever had one of those…or is it just me?

Last time I wrote about my “now what?!” moment—you know that time when you’ve taken the leap and jumped headlong into a life-changing choice. At first, you’re exhilarated and bolstered by the adrenaline. But then doubt sets in and you begin to second-guess your decision. You begin to doubt your abilities, and you begin to think you made a HUGE mistake.

Yup…I was there. And if I’m honest with myself, I revisit that place often, but as Oprah said on Lifeclass, “Courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyway“—so that’s what I’m doing.

For as long as I have been writing, I have been thinking, dreaming, and wanting to write a book. For a writer, having the stamina, focus, and determination to complete a whole book is the ultimate goal.

Although I had to finish a manuscript when I was in grad school to get my MFA, it was in poetry…which, if I’m being honest (again), I chose because it came fairly easy to me (a pattern in my life). But deep down, I always wanted to write a novel or other work of prose.

Over the years I’ve started and stopped multiple stories. I’ve told myself I don’t have the focus, the attention span, or a good enough idea to finish an entire book. Basically, I psyched myself out before I really got started (sound familiar?). But recently…that idea, that gnawing feeling to put pen to paper and write a book has come back again, and this time I won’t be ignoring it.

Telling myself that I’m going to write a book is scary. Admitting what you really want and telling yourself you’re going to try to accomplish it is a completely terrifying proposition.

In 2010 I wrote a list of things I wanted to accomplish. Hiking was one. Last Sunday, I reached my goal!

As with any new or different experience, self-doubt starts to creep in.

Can I do it?
What if I suck?
What if no one likes my work?
What if I can’t get it published?
What is nobody buys it?
What if I fail?

I’m sure you’re familiar with these questions. Anyone who has ever decided to do something, anything of value knows these questions well. But the key is to just push past them and get to work.

When it comes to writing, I’m my toughest critic. I constantly edit myself, erasing whole passages before I’ve given them a chance. I’ve often gotten stuck on a sentence, a thought, a page—paralyzed by the fear of sounding like a talentless hack. But as Anne Lamott pointed out in her book Bird by Bird:

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.”

Although the thought of actually writing a book completely unnerves me, I decided to research the process instead of shooting down my idea before I even allow it a little space to breathe and grow.

Along with revisiting Lamott’s Bird by Bird, I picked up Thinking Like Your Editor which will help me navigate the proposal-writing process. I’ve also reached out to friends who have already done what I’m planning to do for their advice. So progress is being made and it feels…good (and terrifying, and nerve-wracking, but definitely really good).

But how about you?

Once you’ve identified your goals (and if you haven’t…get some already!), did you start taking steps to get you there or are you still stuck in fear?

Remember this:

Set the goal and believe you can do it: When I heard Oprah say, “We become what we believe,” I had an ah-ha moment. I’ve been believing the wrong ish about myself. Time to rewrite the script.

Plot your steps: Once you have your goal, go about finding out what it’ll really take for you to reach it and make a plan to do so.

Follow-through: Toughest part of the process—the action. Yes, we know what we want and we may even know how to get it, but will we actually get started? What’s holding you back?

Be accountable: If no one knows you’re working toward a goal, it’s easy to allow yourself to slack off. Tell the right people (those who will be dream supporters, not dream slayers), and let them know you want them help you keep your eyes on the prize (can you help me stay focused, y’all?).

What do you want to accomplish folks? I want to help you reach your goals any and every way that I can, and in the process, I know I will reach mine.

Let’s support each other! Drop a comment letting me know what you want to accomplish and how we (yes, we) can help.