Yesterday, I read something about how it was “blue Monday“- the most depressing day of the year. I don’t know if it’s a real thing or a made up marketing ploy, but I still think this time of year is interesting.
See? Even this dog looks sad.
(image via pixabay)
I wonder if, by the second week of January, we’re struggling a little with our lofty goals. Maybe the struggle is harder than you thought it would be. Maybe the weather is getting in your way, or you’re sick, or your kids are sick or the lack of sun is seriously harming your motivation.
Here’s what’s working for me right now. Maybe it will help you.
** Focus on progress over perfection.
For most of us, there is a huge distance between where we are right now and the perfect execution of our goals. I heard Kendra, The Lazy Genius, mention this in her podcast about losing weight. It was fantastic and you should listen to it.
**Find something that motivates you.
The thing about motivation is that it’s personal. The thing that motivates someone else might demotivate you. You need something that works for you and you need a compelling reason to keep going even when you don’t feel like it.
I’m loving my habit tracker in my planner. I can’t track all my goals on a daily basis like this, but there are a couple things I use this for: my daily Bible and prayer time is one, and the other thing I track daily is that I tracked my calories and stayed within my limits for the day. It’s not complicated.
**Remember someone else’s success doesn’t mean you’re failing.
If you’re competitive, seeing how well other people are doing can be motivating, but for others it can be demoralizing. It’s okay if someone else read more books than you, lost more weight or ran more miles. Your progress is about you and their progress is about them.
**Focus on some one-time goals that will give you some quick wins.
Some of my goals for this year are things that can be set on autopilot. I wanted to increase our 401(k) contribution. I emailed my husband and asked him to increase it. Done! 🙂 That took one minute and now it’s going to happen all year.
Another goal was to attend our church LifeTrack sessions. So, I signed up. Sometimes having a few small, easy goals gives you encouragement to keep going toward bigger ones. I learned that here.
How about you? How are you doing? What’s working and what is not working?
P.S. Here are some books I’ve read so far this year:
Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore
P.P.S. I’m starting something fun this year and I don’t want you to miss it! On the last day of every month, my email list will get exclusive content I’m making just for them. I’m not sharing it anywhere else. If that sounds interesting, make sure you’re on the list. You can sign up at the very top of this page where it says “Don’t miss a thing. . .”