So you’ve decided what you want to achieve and now you’re on your journey to achieving it but it’s not as simple as that. Anyone that has strived to achieve anything knows that nothing worth having comes easy. Here are some of the things that you can expect on that journey. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
1. Life will test you and say no
You’ll be misunderstood, questioned, and criticized. People might laugh at your goal or even your attempt to achieve it. Realize that this is part of the climb. When someone seeks to better themselves and actually puts in the effort, those around the individual are reminded of their unwillingness to do the same and they attack the individuals with all sorts of discouragement. Does this mean that your efforts are wrong or that they are silly? Of course not. It says more about the individuals ridiculing you than it does about you.
2. You’ll start to see it everywhere
When you want something, you start to get obsessed with it (in a good way) and you begin to see it everywhere you go. You might be asking yourself why this strange phenomenon occurs. It all has to with your reticular activation system (R.A.S). This is basically the function of your brain that allows you to take notice of that which you have placed your focus on.
3. Your eyes will trick you
You’ll get an influx of doubts that will lie to you and deceive. In a sense, you will become your greatest enemy. Sometimes goals, especially if their big ones, don’t look within reach but the more you pummel through the weeks and months, the more it becomes tangible in your reality and then boom you find yourself very close just knowing that it will come to you. Trust in yourself. Trust in the massive amounts of action you have put in.
4. You’ll live a life more true to you
In your pursuit of achievement, you will have to make certain decisions along the way. In some cases, you might be forced to make a decision. That’s where you will have to use one of the most powerful words in your verbal arsenal: “no.” You can’t say yes to everything because if you did, you’d never achieve anything because you’d be too busy trying to please everyone. In using “no” you begin to define the borders of your values and what is most important to you at that moment in your life. As a results, you make more decisions that are true to you because you honed into your values.
5. You’ll wake up each morning with a purpose
When you have something that you want real bad, waking up becomes less difficult because you know there’s so much that needs to get done today and it can’t wait. You might notice that you wake up with a sense of excitement and eagerness to start the day already. This is, I find, will set the tone for the rest of your day!
6. You’ll be pushed outside your comfort zone
It’s unavoidable. You will have to stretch outside what you deem to be safe and comfortable. You will have to push yourself into the deep end of the pool in hopes of coming out a better individual. This might seem scary but the whole process of change is scary. It’s uncertain. It’s not comfortable. But it’s worth it!
7. Excitement vs. Eagerness
You’ll have a sense of excitement for what is to come while at the same time an eagerness for it to come already. It’s a struggle that I find myself dealing with all the time. I’ve never been a patient person, and if you’re as impatient as I am then thought of having to wait to see your hard work pay off is almost unbearable but it’s a part of the process and it’s important to remind oneself of that.