BEGIN AGAIN: EVEN IF IT'S THE 100TH TIME
And just like that, January 2017 is gone—and maybe so are our resolutions?
If only we could keep the same motivation we had on January 1st throughout the entire year, actually even just for the entire month would be nice—am I right?
But alas, it's not that easy, and we find ourselves in the same predicament as past moments.
In all seriousness though, I used to think discipline, discipline, discipline—that's all that mattered in order to achieve goals, stick to your resolutions and to really just become the best version of yourself, but I think the biggest thing standing in our way is the fact that we have no self-forgiveness.
The thing that holds us back from productivity and creativity isn't just discipline, it's the lack of self-forgiveness—the idea that even when we quote unquote fall off the wagon, we can forgive ourselves to get back up and start again, even if that means we have to begin 100 times.
We start on day one confident, optimistic and ambitious and as the daily stress sets in we start losing our momentum, and lets face it, once we start sliding down the mountain, we start to just give in.
You know that feeling, when you realize three days have passed and you officially feel like a failure because you've lost sight of your goal and at this point there's really no reason to find our way back.
Photo by Lowell Wagner
But if we aren't willing to acknowledge our mistakes and forgive ourselves, how can we really evolve and grow?
Making peace with ourselves isn't a narcissistic habit, it's really about embracing self-love. Forgiving ourselves allows us to let go of the guilt and shame that are attached to the days when we feel like failures or when we lose track of our progress and only focus on perfection.
To find self-discipline, we must seize the "all or nothing" mindset. Theodore Roosevelt said, "With self-discipline most anything is possible."
But in order to reach success and to have discipline to achieve greatness, we need to have a habit of forgiveness. With this, it will allow us to release negative energy that might hold us back, whether that is our own twisted mind or opinions coming from others.
The start of creating a habit—a good one for that matter—begins with acknowledging that mistakes are ok and that even when we lose track of our so-called resolutions, that we don't need to wait until next January to start over, or even wait until next Monday.
You still have time, so forgive yourself and stay focused. Everyday is a good day to start over. Keep shining. xo