**Posted on the itsdatenightyyc.com website.
Our year-long journey is coming to an end. I have done my best to provide you with clear steps and concepts to play with that will improve your quality of life by focusing on the power of your mindset. Of course there are practical changes that you can implement into your life to generate a higher vibration, i.e. surround yourself with inspiration, honour your need for sleep, eat a healthy and balanced diet, get your body moving and sweating daily, etc. But just as important, we need to pay attention to and honour the relationship we have with these experiences and these desired practical changes.
If you are dragging your feet through the process or just begrudgingly going through the motions, you will not access the change you are seeking. If you are approaching your diet or exercise with fear, or if you view a misstep with shame and judgment, you are making this much harder than it needs to be. Your mindset, the way you talk to yourself, and the way you respond to the natural ebbs and flows of life are the true magic-makers in this process. What you believe and what you perceive will affect you just as much, if not more, than your actual experiences.
You are not supposed to be perfect.
How do you respond when you make a mistake? This is not supposed to be an overnight magic pill.
How do you respond when you are faced with the need to be patient? Your happiness is not waiting for you at a future destination.
How do you respond when you realize your perception of reality is making life tougher than it needs to be? You are a work in progress, and when you focus on learning and growing, failure begins to lose its grip on you.
As we come back full-circle, approaching the end of another year, it is time to reflect on what is working and to be real with where your area of improvement is.
Take a few minutes to go through these questions and give yourself space and time to take notes.
What have you accomplished last year that you are proud of?
What positive momentum have you created in your life?
What relationships have pushed and grown you into a more complete version of yourself?
What have you learned this year that will you need to continue reminding yourself of?
What habits do you have that are not serving you well? Where are you draining your own energy or getting in your own way?
What do you want to accomplish and create in 2017?
Learn from the past, but don’t carry the weight of mistakes on your back. Reflect, learn, let go, and grow.
As we enter 2017, why not shift your mindset to approach your goals with three key concepts that will elevate your game. Setting goals loses its luster when you have fallen into the pattern of all talk and no action. We are creatures of habit, and our mind craves comfort and routine. While it feels good to set a goal that lights you up, it feels even better to see progress in the direction of your desires.
What is the difference between those who set goals and achieve them and those who set goals and stay stagnant? It’s simple. Those who are successful in their goals know that it is the small, incremental steps that build momentum, create a routine, and compound to produce change.
Goal setting is not the treasure. The real treasure is found in your ability to create and conserve fuel to continue down the new path. This year, rather than getting stuck in setting goals and getting overwhelmed by how far you have to go, choose weekly actions instead. Create small incremental steps that build up to create the traction you are looking for. Questions like these will help you generate positive momentum forward without reaching too far or leaping too big, which can cause stagnation.
Who do you need to enroll for support?
What research do you need to do to build your foundation?
What small step will get you closer to your dream goal?
When you commit to the process and trajectory, you allow this to become routine and lifestyle and you will accomplish more than you can possibly imagine.
3 key concepts to adopt into your vocabulary:
1. Compound Effect
From the Darren Hardy book with the same title, he tells us this “…is the principle of reaping huge rewards from a series of small, smart choices. Our present reality is an outcome of the little, seemingly innocuous decisions that have added up to your current bank balance, waist line, business success, relationship status, etc.” We have a brain that gets easily overwhelmed when we get caught up in how far we need to go to achieve our goal, so break it down into small steps and celebrate along the way.
2. Growth Mindset
From the Carol Dweck book titled Mindset, we are guided to see that whatever we believe about our abilities will directly affect how we feel and what we accomplish. A Growth Mindset, is a perception shift to allow practice, discovery, and learning through trial and error, knowing that a failure does not mean a final-failure. There is no need to be defeated when we acknowledge that time is never wasted if we are engaged and in love with the process. Learning and growing is the goal, so there can actually be no failure.
3. Law of Attraction
We are composed of energy. What you put out into the world, you attract back into your life. Rather than thinking you can manifest a Ferrari or wish your dream job into reality, consider that we are an ongoing creation of every interaction we have ever had with others and with ourselves. The way you talk to yourself and the way you show up in relationships produces your unique experience of life. If you desire certain changes in your life, focus on the creative energy you can muster that embodies possibility and keeps you open to connect with others. Your energy will attract similar energy into your life from others. Be mindful and intentional with the energy you are showing up with in every interaction. You want to see change in the world, and it starts with you.
“Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself” – Rumi
Most importantly, love who and where you are now, because this moment, right now, is your life. Happy 2017. Let’s make some magic together.