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How We Use Excuses to Keep Us “Safe."

I really enjoy Instagram Stories for a few reasons. I find they’re much more interactive, and people seem to feel comfortable engaging and sharing their thoughts and honest feedback.


So, when I recently shared a series of polls in my story, I was thrilled by the honest responses I received.


But the whole thing got me thinking. Over 50% of women indicated they were focused on personal development, while 80% went on to declare Strategy as the primary roadblock they were facing in meeting their personal development goals.


Eighty. Percent!


That is a huge number, and I had to sit back and wonder – when did it all get so complicated?


Too often, to safeguard ourselves from the fear of failure, we make preemptive excuses for why we can’t reach our goals—not having the time, not having the resources, not knowing where to start. We use these things to avoid taking any action at all.


I have a good feeling that’s what is happening here. By defaulting to the excuse “well, I don’t have a strategy, I don’t know the next step” one can avoid attempting to reach that goal full-stop.


The problem is that in never trying, in being afraid to fail and having to start “again”, we never learn the lessons needed or take the steps necessary to progress ourselves. So enough of that!


In an earlier blog, I talked about mindset vs attitude.


Attitude is how we interact with the world. This comes from our conscious mind and is only responsible for 5% of our thinking and actions. Our mindset is how we perceive the world around us. This is our subconscious mind and powers 95% of our thinking and actions.


When we pause to consider that 95% of our actions are motivated by our subconscious mind, it pulls into perspective just how critical it is to form and maintain a mindset aligned with where you want to be. The life you want to lead, the goals you have for yourself, the type of love you want to share and receive.


In building a strategy for personal development, mindset is a critical first step. It’s common for people to be trapped by their limiting beliefs, a fixed mindset rather than a growth mindset. To help you start combating this, I’ve put together a free mini training designed to help you reconnect with what you desire and move from overwhelm to action. You can find it here: https://bit.ly/miniglowup.


A mindset shift doesn’t happen overnight, though, so how do we develop a strategy for personal development that we can begin to action today? An article by the ASAE – Center for Association Leadership, all about “Creating Your Personal Strategic Plan,” shares some great points, so many of which I connected with.


1. Find the Time: Instead, I say, MAKE the time. I do this with my own business carving out blocks of time to work ON it and not IN it – I also do this in my personal life. Keeping Mondays open to immerse myself in energetics supports my creative abilities both personally and professionally through meditation, journaling, and EFT tapping.


2. Clarify You Values: In another recent post, I talk about the importance of dating yourself, learning all there is about you – things you may not have even thought to question or explore before – taking a cue from the Chillpreneur, Erin May Henry, and becoming the coolest person you know. In doing this, you should establish a much more profound understanding of your values, the things you want for yourself, your family, and your career.


3. Creating a Mission Statement: This one goes back to mindset and preparing yourself for the power of manifestation. By surrounding yourself with tangible reminders of your goal – either through a vision board or a post-it on your bathroom mirror, fridge, laptop, etc., you will continuously speak it into the universe and, in effect, into reality. Know what you ARE available for and so no to everything else.


4. Accountability: Surround yourself with people who inspire you – the expanders and the doers. I can’t stress this one enough. As a Mindset Coach, I learned early on how invaluable it is for ME to have my own support system, my own coach! Someone I can share my thoughts and ideas with and trust that they will always be honest. You are 7x more likely to succeed with peer support, and this number is infinitely higher when you choose the right peers to surround yourself with!


When setting out to achieve your personal development goals, remember – living a life by design, one you love wildly, is within your reach. You just have to be willing to do the work.


Believing in you,

Cheryl


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