Have you ever felt stuck because you have some idea what you want, but you aren’t entirely sure how you could achieve that? Or what is the best strategy to tackle this goal?
Maybe you aren’t sure of every step of the way and don’t want to end up wasting time on unnecessary steps? Isn’t that what’s going to happen if you don’t have it all planned and figured out when you start?
I’ve certainly been there and done that. And this whole “I’m just going to wait until I’ve got it all sorted out” has been one of the biggest time wasters in my life!
How to Start Moving Towards Your Goals (Even If You Don’t Have Everything Figured out)
In this blog post, I’d like to share with you one of the most significant insights I’ve been getting over the last year or two.
When you hear what that is, you might think:
Well yeah, of course. That’s common sense.
Or you may think:
Oh wow! I needed to hear that.
Or if you are like me, you might think both of these thoughts.
When I finally got this insight and let it sink in I realized I’d been stuck for a very long time and the reason wasn’t that there was a tangible barrier between me and where I wanted to go.
There wasn’t anything else really holding me back but my expectation.
I had this assumption, a false belief that before I could get going and proceed with my plans, I should have it all figured out.
I thought I have to know:
- What do I want?
- What’s the first step?
- What is the next step?
- And the next step after that?
- What is going to happen along the way?
- What kind of obstacles do I need to prepare for?
- How will I overcome the obstacles I may be facing?
Practically I had fallen into this deep hole of “I have to have it all figured out before I step onto this journey I have ahead of me.”
But that’s like wanting to see the whole road from one city to the next.
Not just on the map, but in real life.
Even when driving from one place to another, there can happen things on your way there.
Maybe there’s a roadblock somewhere that you couldn’t expect.
Perhaps there’s been an accident, and you need to use a detour to reach your destination.
We can’t possibly know all those things ahead of time.
So that is why I decided to switch my way of approaching this journey I had in mind.
My new approach, and what I suggest you consider for yourself is this:
Instead of trying to figure out every step of the way before taking the first steps, I asked myself these questions:
- How will I know I’m going in a good direction?
- What are my wellness metrics?
- How do I remember to check my wellness metrics occasionally?
- What are the most important values for me?
- How can I make sure I pay attention to my values when pursuing my goals?
These are essential things to consider, and they’ll help keep you on a good track.
You can adjust your direction and ways to get to the destination by checking your answers to these questions occasionally.
And let me tell you: it is ok to adjust the pace of your journey, among other things.
It doesn’t mean that you are failing if you do so. I think we often beat ourselves up when we are not meeting our earlier expectations about what we can get done at a particular time frame.
But you know what?
Instead of a failure, you can think of that as progress!
You may have set an unrealistic time frame for something (considering everything else going on in your life or possible unexpected obstacles on your way), and it is a sign of progress and learning to be able to notice that and adjust accordingly.
I hope this helps you move forward even when you don’t have everything figured out before you begin.