The Struggle is Real

Achieving your goals isn’t easy; in fact, sometimes it is an absolute struggle.  Often, people set goals that they fail to meet.

There are many reasons why people struggle to achieve their goals.   Sometimes,  people don’t know how to create and follow a step-by-step plan for to attain their goals.   Other times, they don’t know how to deal with stuff that may get in the way.  Or, they sometimes simply give up too easily.

Let’s face it, it is easy to hit roadblocks on the journey to achieving your goals.

Is the Universe Testing Me?

I feel like, sometimes, the universe tests us.   (In all honesty, I personally feel like it is testing me a lot lately.)

It presents obstacles to see if we really want to achieve the goal that we said that we wanted so badly.

Sometimes, the obstacle brings out our “stubborn side.”  It causes us to dig deeper and determine that we want it so badly that we won’t give up.  We persevere.  We stay the course, and we fight, whether it be for the promotion that we want, the relationship that we want, or the last ten pounds that we want to lose.  In these situations, we know that, not only will we fight, we will win.

Other times, the obstacle helps us to reflect and change our strategy towards meeting our goal.   Desire to attain the goal stays the same, but the reflection that occurs thanks to the struggle helps us to see our situation through a fresh lens that affirms the direction that we need to go in order to meet our goals.   We learn that there are often many paths to the same destination, and that each of us as individuals can pursue whatever path is most effective for them.

However, other times, we encounter an obstacle, struggle, and give up.

Why do We Give up?

There are many reasons that people give up on achieving their goals.

Sometimes, the obstacles that the universe presents show us that we really didn’t want to achieve our goal as badly as we thought that we did.   We give up simply because it we learn that it wasn’t really that important to us.

Sometimes, we realize that the goal that we set was flawed, and that we should have been more thoughtful before initially setting the goal.    That is, we realize that the promotion we thought that we wanted involves too many hours away from our family, or the man who we thought was perfect for us wasn’t as wonderful as we first thought, etc.

Sometimes, we give up on the goal because it wasn’t our really our goal. We realize that we initially set the goal because someone else thought that it would be great for you to achieve this goal.  For instance, maybe your coworker thought you would be perfect for the promotion but your really didn’t want the new job?  Or, maybe your mother thought that it would be a good idea for you to get married before your next milestone birthday?    Basically, you realize that you are struggling with the goal because the goal wasn’t set from your deepest dreams and aspirations.

 

It’s the Gray Matter Matter Between Our Ears

Other times, we give up because of the gray matter between our ears.   That is, we begin to think that we can’t really achieve what we wanted.   We tell ourselves that it is too hard, or too unlikely, that we will ever achieve our goal.   Achieving the goal may be difficult, or scary, to achieve; so instead of continuing the pursuit of our dream, we lose confidence in our ability to reach the goal, and give up.

Are you Lying to Yourself?

Sometimes, we give up on the goal because we believe the excuses that we tell ourselves.

But we are often lying to ourselves, either consciously or unconsciously.

We tell ourselves things like:

• We don’t have enough time to write the book that we always wanted to write,
• We are too old to meet the man of our dreams
• We aren’t smart enough to go back to school
• We aren’t qualified enough to pursue the career of our dreams
• We aren’t attractive enough to date the handsome bachelor that we see at the gym
• etc.

Sometimes, we lie for self-preservation.  We tell ourselves lies to make us feel better so we don’t have to face the truth of the situation.   In these cases, the truth hurts so much that we don’t want to face it.  We don’t want to face that we didn’t get the job because  we weren’t qualified, or the relationship didn’t work out like we hoped because the man didn’t like us as much we initially believed that he did.

Instead of facing the truth of the situation, we allow our doubts and fears overtake us;  we convince ourselves that our goal isn’t as important as we initially claimed.

Attaining our goal is not easy; it involves hard work.  Often, getting to our goals also involves something new, which is also scary.  So we are lying to ourselves because it is the easier path, and FACING THE TRUTH IS SOMETIMES SCARY. 

We tell ourselves that we didn’t really want the job, that we didn’t really like the guy, that we didn’t need the promotion, etc..

In other words, we lie to ourselves because it is easier than facing the truth.  We decide that it is easier to make an excuse than it is to admit the truth; we tried, and we didn’t achieve our goal.

BUT, if we are honest with ourselves, we admit that we did really want to achieve the goal and fulfill our dream; we really wanted the guy, the job, the promotion, etc. But, we hit an obstacle and/or got scared, and gave up on achieving our dream.

 

Was it just not meant to be?

It’s often hard to know when you should “keep the faith” and continue the pursuit of your goals.

After all, let’s face it; sometimes, regardless of how well you plan and work on your goals, you will not always get THAT guy, THAT job, THAT promotion.   Sometimes, we have to accept that THAT job, THAT guy, or THAT promotion weren’t really meant for us.

But is completely giving up on your goals the best decision?

No, not when you really want it.

You don’t have to completely give up your goal because of an obstacle.  When you struggle and fall, it is best to get back up, rather than give up.  Most of the time, we tell ourselves excuses in order to avoid pursuing our goals; we often give up to soon.

But instead of giving up, we should reflect on the situation and try to use the obstacle as a lesson along our life path.   We should take the opportunity to ask if the route that we chose is really the only path to achieving your goal.  We need to consider if there maybe is an alternate path that you didn’t consider before that will get you to the same destination.

For instance, most of us aspire to find that special someone, to happily travel along the path of life.  Sometimes, we get so fixated on another person that we feel like they are our only option to achieving the goal.    Instead, we need to consider that they are a learning experience on your way to to person who will help you to meet your goal.

Or, maybe that job opening was your dream job, and you didn’t get it.  But, that doesn’t mean you can find your dream job.  Use the experience as an opportunity to regroup and seek another job that will truly be your dream job.

 

I DARE YOU!

Do you have a goal that you want to achieve, but struggle and need help and support to achieve it?  If you do, I invite you to join my FREE 30 Day Goals Challenge.

In this challenge, you will work with me and many other motivated individuals to achieve one goal.

It begins on September 22nd, which is both the first day of fall and my birthday.

To sign up, simply enter your name and email at this link.  (You can also visit settinggoalsthatgetresults.com/challenge for more information.

I am so excited for this challenge to begin!

We all know that together, we can accomplish more than alone.