Overcoming Discouragement

Very often, we are filled with zeal when starting something new. We can't wait to start that New Year resolution we have been swearing up and down that we'll do. We might even do it for a little while. Eventually, the lustre dims and we curse the day we thought that we'd try to cultivate new habits.

This is so normal it's cliched. It is no easy task to change ourselves, especially in the long term. What can we do? Everything we've tried to do up to this point has failed. We may think there is no hope and that we're bound to this fate forever. Pretty bleak outlook if you ask me.

The one thing we can count on is that it will never be easy to accomplish the worth while things in life. Or is it? A shift in mindset is often all we need to get back to a state of equilibrium. We must shift between short term and long term thinking. This fluidity in perspective marks the difference between optimism and pessimism.

Long term goals, when viewed through the short term lens, seem daunting and scary. Short term goals, viewed through the long term lens, seem insignificant. The true battle isn't against our bad habits, in reality, it is our rigidity and tacit refusal to look at our problems from another angle. The good news is, we always have the power to change our own minds.

"So you didn't get everything today done that you needed to, didn't make it to the gym today, forgot to make that phone call, send that email." Instead of dwelling on this, what are you going to do RIGHT NOW? Don't start projecting to the end of the day thinking you are a failure. Take responsibility, and seize the present moment. Does this mean that you'll be perfect going forward? No. But at the very least you'll stop wasting precious time and energy worrying about what you didn't do, failed at, or forgot. You always have control of yourself and your thoughts. This is all you'd ever need to get whatever you want in life.

Carpe Diem