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In Effortless Success Step 6 we talked about the importance of consistency over perfection. Step 7 goes hand-in-hand with this important concept. And that is to forgive yourself and move forward when things don’t go as planned. Remember the mantra “I will reset, refocus and restart as many times as I need to.” And be kind to yourself.
Starting new habits and beginning a new way of thinking will not always go as you have planned. You will have successful days and days when you just didn’t follow through – the key is to keep moving forward. When you have a set back, take time to think about why that happened and write down your plan to do something different next time. Don’t let yourself stay in feelings of guilt, anger or frustration – this type of negativity will undermine not only your goals, your daily action items, but also your tendency for self-discipline. Let that go.
Be positive, remind yourself why you are working towards your final outcome, think about why the successful days were, indeed, successful. Acknowledge how far you have come, remember your goal is a journey and what is most important is the person you will become in pursuit of that goal. Allow yourself some ups and down, re-motivate and start again. Immediately. The longer you revert to old habits and old ways of thinking, the harder it will be to get started again. One study suggests that it takes six weeks for a new action to become an ingrained habit, and two weeks of no-action to be back at square 1.
Continued improvement is better than delayed perfection.
Your challenge for today is to take action. Write these steps in your success journal for that day sometime in the future when you feel you've lost your motivation, your drive, and may even want to quit:
Note to self: One less-than-great day does is not the end of my goal, simply a lesson to be learned.
I will write down the circumstances that caused me to forget my desired outcome and skip my action plan. (Remember to make sure eating often and healthfully contribute to your success).
I will write down a new plan on how I will handle these circumstances in the future.
I will remind myself of why I want this outcome.
I will let go of all anger, frustration, and disappointment I might have with myself.
In addition, you may want to plan to review Steps 1 - 6 of Effortless Success:
Effortless Success Step 1 is all about the importance of having a clear vision of where you want to go and who you want to be.
Effortless Success Step 2 highlights the importance of focus and keeping your eye on the prize.
Effortless Success Step 3 provides tips and ideas to keep yourself mentally and physically feeling good – a precursor to taking action towards your goals and ultimate vision.
Effortless Success Step 4 is a simple technique to feel better mentally, and therefore physically, which makes it easier to stay motivated and take action.
Effortless Success Step 5 provides six ways to keep your self control strong working in your favor.
Effortless Success Step 6 reminds us that consistency is so much more important that perfection.
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Linda Short of Elle Short Coaching is a Goal Achievement Coach, certified health and life coach specializing in goal achievement. As a goal achievement coach, I help people struggling with where they are to create their own life story and take action toward their life vision. So that they can get unstuck, find joy in each and every day, and live their best life.