I don't usually have a problem writing blog posts.
But this one was rewritten, re-title and re-formatted three times!
Lately, I have been having a hard focusing on my goals.
Distractions. Frustrations. Lots of little failures. Not enough sun.
You can read the whole thing here but all I want to say is: don't be discouraged if you’ve fallen off of your plan for starting your personal creative launch into a different direction for your life.
Return to your one goal.
I was trying to do too many things at the same time. As a result I wasn't getting much of anything done. Then, the light bulb moment came.
Actually, I got a couple of wake up calls.
From my mentor.
In a book I was reading.
Then on a podcast I was listening to.
Focus on one thing and JAM until it gets going!
Basically, return to your one goal.
So, I am pivoting and jamming for the next few weeks on ONE project!
How about you? Are you in the flow, in the smooth sailing mode? Or have you hit some snags?
I'd love to hear what you are up to. Leave me a comment or send me an email:
And now for the blog post.......
Recently I fell off the track I was on to getting to where I wanted to go.
It was a little bit of distraction.
Add in a touch of desperation (oy vey!)
Throw in a few bright, shiny objects.
I’d fallen off.
I was so discouraged AND frustrated AND angry at myself. I needed the proverbial pasta to stick to the wall- I needed something to work.
Once I realized what I had done, I realized I had two opportunities:
Pivot back to the path that leads me to my goals or keep meandering and waste more time.
Persistence and Consistency are two essential skills to living a freelance life. Pivoting back to being persistent and consist is the gas in our launching engines. Examples of practicing persistence and consistency include:
- Starting and maintaining a blog
- Developing a hair accessories line out of repurposed items
- Starting an Etsy shop
- Learning SEO
- Finishing a novel
- Writing a Cookbook
- Learning how to be a public speaker
Starting again on a project or commitment when the path is foggy is not chic and glamorous. It usually ends up being a lot of hard work. BUT, if what you started is a skill you need to succeed, you gotta get back on the path and master it.
If we can figure out why we are having trouble moving on to the life we want, let’s start by identifying the underlying problem: why keeping good habits can be so hard.
7 Ways to Pivot Back to the One Main Goal
- Be selective about who to look to for advice and direction.
Consuming information, food, things, etc. is easy. But consuming information does not produce results. Only taking the (right) action produces the outcomes we want.
One of the ways I decided to kick my info-junkie addiction was to cut back on who I was allowing to influence me. I keep an eye on a lot of people. But for business guidance on my projects at this time, I’m watching and learning from four sources.
Hit the unsubscribe button and feel your inbox breathe a sigh of relief.
- Find ways to start succeeding small.
I’m convinced that small successes are all we need to get the big successes. However, if the last success you had was a loooooooooong time ago, life can get pretty discouraging.
What can you do to get that small success? Most things can be done very inexpensively: start a blog, start an Etsy store; take a local class, ask a blogger if you can guest post on their site, offer your skills on a freelance site.
Do you need to ask someone for something? Take an hour to focus on a long term goal? Get a coach to help you through a rough spot?
- Take a break and eat some chocolate.
I just had to throw this in here. Put in whatever you want: Pinterest, laundry, flower arranging, walking.
Sometimes we really need to take a break, work on a hobby or take a walk to calm down and get re-focused. It’s hard in the beginning days to juggle day jobs, side jobs, family, friends PLUS try to pivot your life.
Don’t be so hard on yourself. Take a break and get back to it.
- Remember, our inner psyche craves comfort and will resist all change.
We are creatures of comfort. Especially us women. If we start to feel insecure about something, we run back into hiding in “The Land of the Known.”
If you are feeling uncomfortable as you persist in learning a new skill, hang in there. Once the skill is mastered, the uncomfortable feeling will go away J
- Acknowledge the hard work goals-that-matter require.
Doing the real work requires….a lot of work. Keep at it. You’ll be happy you stuck with it.
- Working towards important goals doesn’t mean not taking care of ourselves.
Sleep, a break from work, and healthy eating are really important now and in the future. Please don’t jeopardize health.
Take the time to make a healthy dinner. Sit in the sunlight and eat a salad at lunch and drink some herbal tea at night. Exercise. Breathe. Stretch.
- Success and failure are mental games.
Failure is a bummer. If we get too much of it (without some successes) we go into hibernate- and-read blogs-and-drink-coffee constantly mode. (Not that I would know about this….)
Yet failing and success are not who we are. They are outside of us.
How we view failure and success can determine our willingness to start again.
My recent Lemon Crackle Cookie experiment is a good example of this. But I am going to write about them tomorrow because this post is becoming entirely too long!
Recipe & Story to Come!!!
