We’re getting close to the end of the calendar year. However, there is still plenty of time to make progress on your goals. You just need to get momentum.

The great thing is that you gain momentum by doing little things every day that keep moving you forward.

Commit to Your Goals

Have you ever wanted something and then talked yourself out of it? Our brains think they’re helping us.

This fear is caused by our amygdala or “lizard brain.” (Mel Robbins discusses this in her 5 Second Rule book) This part of our brain is the “fight or flight” central. It holds us back when we try something new.

So we need to work on our mindset that we do want to achieve our dreams, and that we do deserve it. Also, it helps to break up the steps into small tasks that are easy to accomplish.

When our brain sees us achieving things, it tends to stay out of our way, and then we’ve achieved momentum!

At least until we run into a stumbling point.

Push Through When It Gets Tough

There are two ways that stop us when things get tough. The first is if we don’t even start because we think it will be too difficult to achieve our dreams.

The second is if we’re so focused on a rosy outcome that we forget that it takes hard work to get there. So the first time we run into something difficult, we give up.

That’s why breaking tasks up into something small helps us get momentum on our journey.

So if you find your brain talking you out of working on your goals, choose to do a small step that takes less than ten minutes that will help you move forward.

If your dream is to take a long holiday, maybe the task is identifying a few websites to look at later. Or signing up with an online travel site that will send you alerts for travel deals.

Journaling

If you’re having problems taking that small step, you may want to spend some time journaling about your resistance.  You may uncover some hidden fears that you didn’t realize.

Or you may realize that your next step is too big and you need to break it down even further.

And finally, you may decide that your dream isn’t your dream but rather someone else’s dream for you. That will certainly bring up a lot of resistance.

Your journal is private and you should trust that you can be completely open and honest with yourself.

Sometimes I’ll write down things that are daring and shocking just to get my brain asking “Is that really true?”  It helps me gain perspective.

Visualization

If you want to get motivated, spend some time twice a day imagining what your life will be like once you accomplish your goal. Let yourself go crazy with the details.

See all the colors and smell all the delightful smells. Let your brain help you to make the vision truly come alive.

Then, it becomes easier to take the next step along the path to your dreams.

Connections

There are many ways to use our connections to build up our momentum.

Sometimes we need someone to give us emotional support when things get difficult. They’re the kind of friend who just listen and help you brainstorm.

Sometimes we need an accountability buddy. They’ll check in regularly to make sure you’re staying on task. It can certainly be motivating when you know you have to report back to someone about your progress.

If you’re completely stuck, find a friend or mentor to help you identify the first step you need to take.

The Joy of Imperfection

There is a fine line between working towards improvement and striving for perfection. And it’s important you understand the difference.

When you’re working towards improving yourself, you accept that you’re going to make mistakes, and you will choose to learn from them. You are motivated towards working towards your goal.

Perfectionism, unfortunately, is impossible to achieve, and does more harm than good.

People will use perfectionism as an excuse not to even start towards a goal. And that’s a mistake.

We do admire people who push themselves and others to produce amazing achievements. However, they don’t (usually) get upset if the end result isn’t perfect the first time.

Often, you need to reflect upon where you’re going and if that’s still where you want to go. You may have learned something new about yourself and your goal such that you need to make some adjustments. That’s not failing. I discussed this in last month’s goals check in post.

So don’t hold yourself back because you won’t be perfect right out of the gate. Give yourself permission to take small steps and learn from them.

And you can use meditation to help yourself stay centered and appreciate that we’re human. You may even discover that your mistake was actually an important lesson in disguise.

Embrace Your Self

Another problem that holds us back is our beliefs. You need to believe you deserve it…whatever it is.

Remember that you deserve happiness and great health and loving friends and family.

You deserve everything wonderful in this world.

You also need to learn who you are. We all have unique energy cycles. If you try to do something that requires focus during one of your non-focus times, you’re just going to get frustrated.

So try to look at your diary and decide when are your best hours for blocking out time to focus on your goals. Then connect back to your belief that you deserve it, and just do it.

Sometimes, it helps to set a timer. Promise yourself that you will be working on your goal for twenty minutes. It helps to keep a pad of paper and pen near you so when those thoughts pop into your head, you can write them down quickly, and then get back to your goal.

If there are others in your life, let them know what you’re trying to do and get their support.  As I mentioned above, they can be your accountability partners.

And more importantly, they will know to leave you alone while you’re focusing.

Mistakes Motivate

It’s time you gave up the belief that mistakes are bad. Unfortunately, it’s pretty well worn into our consciousness thanks to school.

You either have the correct answer, or else you’re wrong. And then you get graded on how wrong you are.

The truth is that mistakes are helping us learn. Have you ever heard of the quote that a baby would never learn to walk if they focused on how many times they fell down?

Falling down isn’t a mistake. It’s the baby’s way of learning how to walk by learning what to do and what not to do.

So try to view your mistakes as a positive thing, and get motivated to want to make more.

Connect to Your Feelings

Are you unhappy about something in your life? Good!

I don’t mean it’s good that you’re unhappy. Often people think that the opposite of happiness is unhappiness.

It’s not. Apathy is the opposite of happiness.

When you’re unhappy, you’re able to recognize that something isn’t going right. And you can figure out what you don’t want which can lead you towards what you do want. So use unhappiness to motivate you to get to a place where you are happy.

And beware not feeling anything at all. That means you’re stuck and may need extra help to get out of it.

Celebrate Often

To continue to gain momentum, it’s important to celebrate your successes even if they seem small to you.

Create a list of little, medium, and large rewards that are personal to you. For some people, it could be getting a manicure or a massage. For others, it could be a day at the beach or an hour of reading a novel with no guilt.

But it’s essential that you feel the joy of the victory. You’ll be more inclined to take the next step and hit the next milestone.

My Final Thoughts

Many times we don’t truly live our dreams because we’re afraid of messing up, or we don’t think we deserve it. You need to accept that making mistakes is the answer because it means you’re learning and growing. And you need to accept that you do deserve to achieve your dreams. Some say God wouldn’t have put the idea in our head if we weren’t worthy and capable of achieving it.

And sometimes we just so overwhelmed at the thought of all that we need to do.

It’s okay to take a step back and not think about how to achieve the final goal. You know the joke about how to eat an elephant, right? One bite at a time.

Treat your goal like a road trip, and you’re driving at night. You know where you’re going, but all you can see is what is illuminated by your auto’s headlights. And that’s okay. Just focus on the next step that is right in front of you.