
Feeling February
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Hey Kids,
With the world in a rather... interesting state... I have to admit that I have had to drop the ball with regards to keeping up with things like I normally do on my social media and website. I feel like taking the month of January "off" should have helped but I am not too sure it did...
That's okay, we're back at it again with renewed gusto (if I say it maybe it will be true...) and ready to tackle the upcoming year!
SO! With that exciting announcement on to this month's topic!
The new year (or one month into the new year haha) is an excellent time to reflect on your goals and update your plans and schemes so they align with one another.
What is the point of having a plan if the plan doesn't help guide the scheme and what's the point in having a scheme if there's no plan to go along with it? You're basically a goldfish swimming in applesauce otherwise. Not a fun way to go about things, am I right?
First of all you gotta figure out your main scheme aka your goal.
What is it you are hoping to accomplish?
Are you hoping to get into an exclusive club or school? Are you wanting to get better at a specific skill? Save up money? Do you want to take over the world? Cool! Whatever you choose, make sure it is specific and is measurable. Write this down! Remember that you need to be clear and concise.
Next you need to break things down into smaller steps. By doing this you can create lil milestones that you can celebrate along the way! You'll be able to stay motivated and see how far along you are in your process. There's nothing worse than feeling like you've done a tonne of work and not gotten anywhere.
Climbing a hill is hard but when you turn around and see how far up you are compared to the last time you had a look you can see your progress (even if it was only five minutes prior and three steps ahead you ARE making progress and that counts!). There's no better way to stay motivated in the long run.
Now let's say that you have a goal to build a rocket.... only using things that you can find in the garage. Do-able? ....Maybe? It could take a long time and be rather difficult but you may be able to do it if you keep at it.
BUT if you put a timeline on that to be finished in say, 3 days, is that realistic? Is that even FAIR to yourself? NO WAY! Whenever you make a plan for something be absolutely sure that you have put a fair timeline on it. All things take time and some things take more time than others. Do not put pressure on yourself to do something that realistically can't be rushed. You WILL fail and you WILL get discouraged and you WILL probably give up. If that goal was something important to you, you need to set yourself up for success not failure.
The same goes in the opposite direction too, you know. Don't be so open ended with your goals that you never accomplish them. I know, I know, I said you shouldn't pressure yourself or rush, but a bit of healthy pressure CAN be a good thing! You should WANT to accomplish your goals! So, again, set yourself up for success by creating a realistic timeline for your steps that way you get to check the smaller things off the to-do list and feel proud of your accomplishments!
If something comes up that prevents or delays you from achieving your schemes, come up with ways around those obstacles, but be flexible. Life gets in the way sometimes and can make things tricky. Say you have a goal to participate in a contest but you get sick and can't go. You can't do anything about the fact that you have to miss the contest. You may be disappointed. Now, that feeling can really suck, but you can sign up for another one and revel in the extra time to prepare!
But what if you're feeling relieved? Get curious and learn from that feeling too! Why are you relieved? What was it that you were dreading? Can you find a way to change that and find success in the future? Or does it signal that you should reflect on your goal and maybe see if it's right for you right now? It's okay if you thought you wanted to do something but decide you don't. These are your goals. Not someone else's. They should be challenging but rewarding for YOU to accomplish.
As you scheme your lovely schemes and work through your plans like the wonderous marshmallow that you are, I ask you to remember to celebrate your successes, no matter how small. You deserve to feel proud of even the tiniest morsel of progress. You are closer than you were a week ago, than yesterday, than a minute ago! That is something to party about. Don't diminish your accomplishments just because they are diminutive. Even rest is progress. This is your life and in my opinion everyone should be celebrating the fact that they are alive on this funky rock every single day, do what you can to make it magical.
I will now be partaking in my own advice and celebrating my small steps today. I hope you do too!
Love,
The Goat