Beginnings are exciting. The start of a road trip, for example, is the best time. Home is in the rear view mirror and your destination is a perfect dream in your mind, just up ahead. The perfect road trip mix has just started, and you love every song. You take that first sip of coffee and smile at the open road.
The start of a race, the start of your birthday party, the start of a test. That moment, just after you start, feeling beautiful and fresh. I want to talk about that feeling that comes right after the initial joy of starting something. That feeling where you realize that you are in it. You're in it, and it is no longer new. You're doing that thing you wanted to do. You started that blog you have always meant to start, and now, now you're stumped about what to write. You're 2 hours into your road trip and you are quite done with that Taylor Swift song you thought you loved (stop judging me), but maybe you just loved it ironically, and now quite literally hate it. The coffee is gone and you need to find a rest stop, pronto. The open road now looks daunting, and you start checking the map to see if there's a way to shorten this thing up. It's the part of the race where you wonder if this might be a good time to start walking. It is not a beautiful feeling, and it doesn't feel like an accomplishment. I hate that feeling.
I just started this whole "not drinking for a month" and "quitting smoking" and "working out and eating healthy" thing. I will tell you that, 8 days ago, at the beginning of this journey, in the midst of an epiphany about my mind/body connection, high on yoga and fresh air and deep breathing and tea drinking, I was so excited. I had actually started something I had been thinking about for forever. I felt so much clarity. That was 8 days ago. Today, I am sitting here with a sore back from a back bend that my bod was not quite ready for, and a strong desire for a cigarette and a healthy sized glass of red wine. Yum.
That point in any goal where you've started doing it, but the excitement of doing it has warn off? That is a dangerous point, I think. What do you do? I'm not an expert here, just a 29 year old woman on a mission to make this year different and better than the ones before. So these are a few ideas I've come up, in the last few days, for sticking with my goals.
- Write that good stuff down. All of the good feelings you felt, even if they're sort of muted now that you're in the thick of it. There still in your mind somewhere. i.e. I feel strong when I workout, I feel more confident when I don't accidentally text my crappy ex late at night, etc. I read these when I'm feeling especially blah. It helps me, so maybe it will help you? Eh?
- Don't beat yourself up. You screw up, it happens. Get back on the proverbial pony. Every day is a new day, thank GOD.
- Rewards. I love, love LOVE presents. It is to the point where, if someone has, say, a stick of gum? If they start off with "I have a present for you", and then give me the gum, I am delighted. Even if you're not a selfish little present troll like me, you can apply the same concept. Tell yourself that if you stick to whatever goal you have for yourself, for, say, a week, then you will do something nice for yourself. Even if it's just drinking cocoa in a really hot shower . Anyone else do that? Or take yourself to lunch. For me, not drinking and smoking is really saving me a lot of money. In the future, saving that money would be great. For now, in the interest of motivating myself, I buy myself presents. New shirt looks better than a hangover. That's one of the "cool" new mantras I've made for myself.
So, if you're in the boring part of a goal, like me, hang in there kitten in a tree. It sucks, I know. But just think of how you felt before you started. Good for you for getting started. That's half the battle. The other half is actually staying in the battle, and if we're able to do that, we can pretty much take over the world.
xo
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