RADICAL ACCEPTANCE: HOW TO GET UNSTUCK ON YOUR NEW YEAR GOALS (PART I)
Another year, another lap we’ve spun around the sun.
We humans have accomplished some amazing things, you know? We created spaceships and landed on the moon, invented electricity, climbed Mount Everest, and consistently produce art and poetry so profound it almost compares to the majesty of mountains in how it moves us.
It’s absolutely incredible what we humans are capable of… when we’re really intentional, that is.
Without a doubt, those amazing human achievements wouldn’t have happened on accident without the proper intention and plan. And you know this to be true in your own life, too. Any significant project doesn’t happen without clear direction on how to move forward.
Yet, many of us have this belief that we can have an amazing year simply by *hoping* and/or *hustling* our way through it. We don’t exactly admit this to ourselves, but it looks something like this:
I’m going to start eating healthy, working out, and acting like a successful person this year. It’ll be a great year. It’s going to be different! I feel great!
Here’s the thing though: working hard without a clear direction on what you’re working toward might increase your confidence (which can unlock more success and potential), but that alone won’t get you closer to a fulfilling and meaningful life if you don’t know how to employ that confidence for your benefit.
You’re the boss of your own life. And your energy, confidence, motivation, focus, and time are some of the best employees you have who can and will help you accomplish whatever it is YOU want. You just need to get them on board with your mission and give them clear directions on what to do.
And this is where a lot of people get stuck.
OBSTACLE: NOT KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT
As we’ve established above, without being clear on what it is you want, you won’t know how to move forward. Yet, this isn’t easy. This could be overwhelming for a lot of us. If that’s the case with you, don’t feel bad.
Let’s put things into context a little bit:
- we are constantly bombarded with information on our phones and computers about what we should be doing
- most of us don’t have a clear sense of spiritual purpose or beliefs (post-modernity is a confusing time)
- relationships are suffering because of new applications of technology, and most of us struggle with
loneliness of some sort - our highly individualized society means a lot of have very unique mental homes, so our problems are no longer easily fixed by other people’s solutions and we rarely feel understood
I could go on, but you get the picture. It’s tough to know exactly what you should focus on right now in your life when there
For multi-cultured minorities, this is even more pronounced.
SUGGESTED SOLUTION: RADICAL ACCEPTANCE OF WHERE YOU ARE
What do I mean by this? I mean that you shouldn’t deny or fight the fact that you feel lost, hopeless, scared, scattered, etc. if that’s how you feel. Because as soon as you acknowledge how you really feel, you can start to create a plan that you can actually implement.
If your phone’s location service/GPS is turned off, and you put in a new address you want to get to, would you know how to get there without knowing your starting point? Absolutely not, right? It’s no different with your life.
If you realize you don’t know what you want in your life, then it’s the perfect opportunity to start being intentional about figuring it out:
- ask yourself important questions
- dig into your past
- call on your wisdom and intuition
- read books about life purpose
- explore your religious beliefs or any doubts you have
- find a therapist to talk through the subtle sense of despair that’s been keeping you on the couch
or
- invest in a life coach who can work through your fears, frustrations, and lack of direction and keep you accountable to making progress
Accept where you are –no matter how much you dislike it –and then start right there.
Tap into the power of purpose, and find your clarity. I promise it all gets easier for there.
All those people who accomplish amazing things aren’t better than you. And you aren’t better than those who’ve accomplished less than you (whatever that means to you). There are strategies that work and ones that don’t. We all have the opportunity to learn new strategies and turn things around for ourselves. Just make sure you don’t spend all your time learning and never get to the part of doing.
Next post, we’ll talk about another mental obstacle that’s making you procrastinate on working on your goals for 2019.
BUT before you close out of this, take just a few mins to take action now, before you forget, by answering this:
If you were to radically accept where you are in your life right now, what would you admit?
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