Seven things to consider

Learning something new is exciting.
And then it’s hard.
And then you want to quit and curl up on your couch with your cat, some ice cream, and The Great British Baking Show for seven hours and 58 minutes.
Anyone? Bueller?
Just me?

Before you go down the cat, ice cream, baking, can’t-get-off-the-couch tunnel, hear me out. I have seven things to help you stay the course with your new thing without lodging yourself in the fetal position between Ben and Jerry for umpteen hours.

Whether it’s learning how to belly dance, starting a new career, leaning into a healthy lifestyle, retiring early, running a marathon, buying a house, eating plant based, raising goats, batch cooking, or loving yourself, here’s what I suggest:

     1. Figure out your why 
Why do you want to do this? There is no right or wrong reason to do something, just make sure you like your reason. When you start something new and unfamiliar, it will be challenging at times. Circling back to your why will make the difference between moving forward and giving up.

     2. Remember this is your life 
You get to live the life you want and the only person in charge of making that happen is YOU. There will be obstacles, but do not for one second believe that you need someone else to act differently in order to create the life you want.

You get to do that and no one has to change in order to make it happen. Don’t appoint another human as a reason you can or can’t do something.

     3. Decide you are absolutely going to do the thing
Instead of going into it with an “I’m going to try” mindset, go into it with a “this is as good as done” attitude. From there, you just have to connect the dots and arrive. When we go into something with a “fingers crossed” way of thinking, we look for reasons why it’s not working. When we commit from the start, and think of it as being in the bag, we look for reasons why it is working. Believing in ourselves and our ideas is a superpower. Step into that cape and own your greatness.

     4. Make an actionable plan
Epic shit doesn’t happen by itself. You have to get up every day and make it happen. Bit by bit. Step by step. You don’t have to know exactly how you’re going to do it, that’s what the process of doing a new thing is for. You’ll find out what works and doesn’t work as you start taking action. Make a plan, outline that plan into actionable steps, and schedule those steps on the calendar. This will help you stay focused and accountable, and out of the “screw it, this is too hard and overwhelming” mind space.

     5. Learn from people who have already done it
I’m a big fan of investing time and money in learning from people who have already done the things you want to do. Want to write a book and get it published? Learn from someone who’s been through the process. Want to eat more plants? Sign up for Clean Food Dirty Girl and we’ll give you everything you need to get started and keep going. Want to start a business? Take a course or get coaching from someone who has built a successful business. Leapfrog by trusting the experts and learning from other people’s mistakes.

     6. Quitting doesn’t make the process any faster 
It would be great if we could decide what we want, make a plan, take some actions, and BAM accomplish the thing within 48 hours. We humans are notoriously impatient, myself included. I want all my dreams and goals to have been reached three years ago at the very latest.

But, for better or worse, that’s not how it works. It takes perseverance. Failing. Learning. Crying. Cheering yourself on. Tweaking. Getting up and trying again. Over and over again. When you’re not seeing results “fast enough” it’s easy to want to throw in the towel and quit. But quitting doesn’t get you there any faster. The biggest difference between people who reach their goals and people who don’t is that one of them kept going when they felt like quitting and one of them didn’t. It’s hard for a reason. Don’t let that be a reason to give up.

     7. Don’t wait until you feel motivated
We’ve been told that we need motivation to accomplish things. This is a lie. Motivation is great when it happens, but if humans relied on motivation to get stuff done, very little would actually get done. If you’re not motivated, nothing has gone wrong. Do the thing anyway, it’s the only way forward. Bonus: taking action is the best way to cultivate motivation. Don’t feel like doing the thing? That is the perfect time to do the thing.

Whatever you’re working on, I am cheering you on and loving you fiercely from afar. Of course you got this! You are an incredible force who can accomplish anything and everything you want.

Have a beautiful weekend, don’t forget to eat some plants.

Molly