OnTheBeach – In It For The Long Haul

So how are things going in your one and only life? Everything going perfectly to plan? Every goal you’ve ever had achieved? Still as optimistic and positive as you were when you were 19? No? Welcome to the Human Race! Only it is not a race…there are no prizes for getting to the finish line early, and it’s one of those sneaky courses that deceive you – just when you think you’re getting there, you turn the corner and there is ANOTHER home strait in front of you, stretching as far as the eye can see.

It’s liberating to realise that life is not a race and there is no finish line, because it frees you from the shackles of having to be at a certain point at a certain time. It also encourages us to change our expectations and our strategy slightly. You see, if it’s not a race, there is no need to wear ourselves out…and if the journey is never-ending, stamina is more important than speed. Remember the tale of the hare and the tortoise? While the hare dashed hither and thither and was distracted by a thousand things, the tortoise plodded steadily on and reached the finish line.

How do you approach your goals? Do you set a bright and shiny goal to earn £250squillion more this year, set off at a run, not achieve it in the first 30 seconds so get completely discouraged, stop and give up? Or do you set a goal you believe you can reach and head towards it, steadily and persistently, knowing that when you reach this goal, there will be another to head for and enjoying the journey is more important than hitting the milestones.

For years, I tried the first approach. I would start the year with high expectations, spend 2 or 3 days making plans and getting excited, take a little action then hit a hurdle and give up, defeated. The end of the year would roll around and I would mutter to myself ‘another year wasted’ and be negative and pessimistic, scoffing at the very idea of a joyful life. Luckily I made a discovery which has saved me from this pattern of accelerate hard, brake even harder, reverse to beginning.

Persistence. I was always stubborn, and when I realised that I could turn stubborn-ness (a supposed fault) into tenacity and persistence (strengths) and use it to move my life inexorably forward, my life changed. Life is a journey – with good health and a little luck, a long journey, and if you set off at a run, you will wear yourself out quickly. But if you take one fun step, then another, and another, and another, before you know it you will be closer to your goals, and have enjoyed yourself along the way. And it won’t matter that you’re not ‘there’ yet because you know that you will never be finished anyway, and it’s worth being in it for the long haul to create the life of your dreams.

Something to play with
Think of something you really want in your life. What have you done in the last 7 days to create this? What do you think would happen if you took one step a day towards what you want for 365 days? Set that stubborn streak of yours to good use and keep moving towards what you want – consistently and persistently.

Want to share your thoughts on this article? Leave me a comment below.

A note from Donna
This topic has been a hot one this week – I have mentioned the persistent, step by step approach to every one of my clients, and when I now look at my very very nearly finished ebook, I am reminded that without this persistence and tenacity, I would NEVER finish this project. A few times I have become discouraged, even bored of it but now I have almost finished the latest draft and it just needs a little final polishing for the final draft. This project started as a seed of an idea back in late 2007 – good job I was in for the long haul eh?