In the quiet of Lent I thought I would have an epiphany or revelation; instead all my coping mechanisms have been magnified.
When I am bored, angry or frustrated and want to numb out I grab for my phone. Since I began fasting social media I have noticed I am now grabbing for food or the remote.
Yesterday, afternoon I was sitting on the couch and was about to dive into the latest episode of The Bachelor and instantly I knew I needed to STOP and finish my daily lists of task before indulging in some reality television.
As I pressed play on my next Tuesday Teaching from Hope Writers I was excited to learn about memoir writing. I quickly realized it is easy to get distracted from our goals. It is easy to find something else to take up our time instead of doing what is going to get us to the finish line.
You see this journey to achieving goals and dreams is not about chance or happenstance. You do not complete a half marathon just by showing up on race day. Race day and crossing a finish line is the culmination of months of hard work and training.
What is your goal for this month?
What steps do you need to take in order to get to your goal?
What daily habits will help you complete the steps towards your goal?
Structure is a necessity to accomplishing any goal, dream or task.
Even though the lesson I was listening to was on the structure of a writing life and the benefits of writing a daily schedule to achieve your writing goal I realized in the past I had done similar things in order to cross the finish line.
The simple act of turning off the television last night and investing in the teaching was just the reminder I needed to rise early again today to get my morning habits done so, I would have time to write.
No matter what you want for this month you can achieve it by writing out the steps and creating daily habits to achieve those steps towards accomplishing your ultimate goal.
The microscope of my coping mechanisms was the perfect reminder of my BIG goals this year and in order to achieve those goals I need to notice and learn from my past mistakes.
We all have something we want to achieve and the real questions is our we willing to do what it takes to make those dreams come true?
I hope that when Lent is over I can still maintain my awareness of my coping mechanism and I am as quick with choosing my daily habits and tasks over numbing out. So often when I notice and shift my focus I come out of it feeling accomplished and renewed.
May you find time to set some daily intentions to help you come out of this month accomplished and renewed in your individual journey towards your finish line.
