Generally I have pretty high expectations for myself. While this isn’t bad inherently, it kind of exacerbates my already-perfectionistic tendencies. And if I don’t meet up to these expectations, I do one of two things: 1) Brush it off and congratulate myself on a good effort, or 2) Let the guilt of failed goals settle in–and camp out . . . for a really long time. These reactions certainly apply to my athletic pursuits, but they creep into my life goals and wishes. For the most part, I try hard to meet the expectations I’ve set for myself, but let’s be honest, some of these optimistic goals are never really what I want to do, so those are the failures I don’t allow to bug me very much. But those goals I really strive to conquer? I’m crushed when they aren’t achieved, and I spend too much time worrying about what I could have done better.
The good news is that I’m human, and as such, I’m not alone in this thinking. Now why do I bring this up? I’m setting new goals for myself and am scared that they won’t pan out despite the effort I’ll put into them. I’m terrified of the what-ifs. I’m afraid that I won’t be good enough or that I’ll give up on the goal. But I don’t want to. I really want to meet this goal. I can do it, but I need to be motivated enough to put in the effort and be satisfied with the result. Sorry that I’m being vague, but I needed an outlet to share these thoughts. When I really solidify my goals into manageable pieces, I’ll let you know, but in the meantime, I need a new mantra.
What are some mantras that you live by when you’re working on a goal?
Our family motto is “I can do hard things!”…at least, that is one of them. The other is “When you are asked to stop, stop.” but, that doesn’t really apply here 🙂 You can do anything you put your heart into, seriously 🙂