I’m not usually a big proponent of looking in the past. Some people tend to focus on it and almost live in the past which certainly doesn’t help you move toward your goals and dreams. It keeps you pointed in the opposite direction.
Occasionally, it can be useful…
Some goals are larger than others and need to be broken down into smaller steps to have a starting place and natural progression of what you are working to achieve. You can feel at times though, that you’re not progressing, that you aren’t going to achieve your dream or that you have stopped moving forward.
That is when I encourage you to turn around and take a glance at all that you have accomplished.
Take notice of it.
Honor it.
Celebrate it and know you are still making strides. It’s just a landing in the staircase and you’re gearing up to take the next set of steps.
I recently learned how to drive a boat and had zero experience with one other than the “Here, wanna drive?” while you are already underway in the middle of a huge lake that is hundreds of feet deep with no other boats on it. Driving a boat was a new experience for me and one I was determined to tackle. My heart was hammering in my throat at first. I thought I was directly in the path of each new boat I saw, I thought I was going to hit each buoy I approached. Oh, and forget docking!
We heap on the guilt when we think we haven’t gotten as much done as we should. According to whom? Who says you’re not just where you are supposed to be? If you’re going to listen to self-talk doesn’t it feel better to listen to the voice that speaks with appreciation and acknowledgement of your accomplishments?
At the end of two weeks I had passed my boaters exam, I could drive the boat and had developed the correct perspective to know that I was on track and not going to take out any other boaters or buoys while I was driving it. Whew! I could even dock the boat without anyone telling me what to do – at least most of the time.
Cut yourself some slack. Celebrate the little victories and plot the next one. You’re already one step closer to it.
Bon voyage!
