LifeSoup by Cherie Dawn Haas

Since January is prone to discussions of goals, resolutions, and intentions, I wanted to help you prepare to make the new year a success. You’re probably familiar with the basic goal-setting techniques, but there’s one thing we often don’t think about: having a plan for when you feel like giving up on your goals.

You’re bound to have “down times” of lowered motivation once you begin to work toward something. Accept that as part of the ride, but before that corner comes, know how you’re going to handle it. 

Take some time now to jot down a few goals you have for this year, and think about what the roadblocks might be. Then, make a loose plan for how you’re going to get through them – your possible detours.

One option I’ll share with you is to simply take a short break. Give yourself a day or a week to not even think about your project, but also plan to come back to it on a specific day. 

In 2021, I lost about 25 pounds, and so one of my goals is to maintain my healthy weight. To support that, one of my mini-goals is to get a certain number of steps in every day. I wear a simple pedometer and use it to stay active and on track. That said, every once in a while I slip it off my wrist for a day when I know it’s not possible to get my ideal number of steps in. It’s a little break, but I know it’s temporary – that helps me stay in the right mindset.

Other options are to:

• Call a friend, but first, right now, write down who that friend is so there’s no question when you need them.
• Write down why you feel like giving up on your goal. Putting it in black and white can help to separate you from the emotions of it and see things more clearly.
• Consider how you will feel in the near future if you give up. How will you feel if you continue on?

Remember that every little step you take along the way matters. It all adds up.

(By the way, for the past two years, I’ve taught a “New Year Goals” yoga workshop; my next session is on relaxation and mindfulness with journaling, yoga, and more at East Cincy Yoga in February – email me for the signup details: cheriedawnhaas at gmail.com.)

Moving on a different note, I wanted to share with you an exciting new collaboration with the talented voice actor Elaine Weatherby. She read one of my just-for-fun fictional pieces on her Wandering Stories podcast, referring to it as – get this – “sinister.” Listen to my short story on the podcast here, but maybe not when you’re alone. 😉

Stay well,

Cherie Dawn

P.S.
Winter is a dormant season for many beings and things, including creativity for many of us. On that note, I wrote the guest blog post “Seasonal Creativity: How I Stay Creative in the Cold of Winter” for Word Dreams about this very topic. I hope you find it helpful. [read about seasonal creativity]

Love to Read? Check out some of my favorite books at www.amazon.com/shop/cheriedawnlovesfire
(Note: I am an Amazon affiliate, which means that if you purchase one of my suggested books, I may receive compensation. All the books I recommend are authentically chosen by me, and are probably on my bookshelf at the moment.)