What are your goals?

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” ~~ Michael Jordan

Well, it’s that time of year again. That time when many people set New Year’s resolutions. And let’s face it, many people never reach their goals.

According to Statistic Brain, 45% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, and only 8% are successful in achieving those resolutions. (http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/) So why set resolutions, if so many people never succeed in achieving them? Well, Statistic Brain also noted that people who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.

If you’re going to be successful in achieving your goals, you’ve got to be prepared for the fact that there WILL be roadblocks. I mean, think about it…if it were easy, we wouldn’t need to be setting goals in the first place, right? We’d already be where we want to be. The quote above from Michael Jordan says it so wonderfully…don’t turn around and give up…figure out how to climb it (he’s talking about the obstacle), go through it, or work around it.

Since this is a yoga blog, let’s talk about our goals as they relate to yoga. Do you have any for this coming year? If you’re not sure, think about it for a bit…and pick just one thing to focus on for now. One thing I’ve learned is that if I pick too many things I want to accomplish, I accomplish exactly NONE of them. I get too overwhelmed when I have to think about too many things, because when those obstacles hit, I can only tackle one at a time. And then before I know it, I’ve let go of all the other things and I feel like a total failure.

For me, my goal this year is to continue working on improving my health. I’ve seen some great strides in this over the past year, but I know I can do better. So I need to adjust and refine my yoga practice even more. Stress has been horrible for me and sets off my symptoms like I could never believe, and the more restorative and meditative styles of yoga are what helps me the most in terms of stress management. Yin Yoga, Deep Stretch, Restorative…these are the classes I need to be taking. Unfortunately, there just aren’t enough types of these classes at the studios near me that fit my schedule. So this means I’m going to have to figure out how to do this type of yoga on my own. And I am HORRIBLE at doing my own thing…I would much rather someone else be telling me what to do. So here is how I plan to tackle this goal, so that I can actually achieve it. It’s critical for my entire well-being, so I MUST be successful…I simply won’t accept failure on this one.

Stop Trying So Hard. The first thing I’m going to do is stop trying so much. Many times, when we try to control every step of the way, we sabotage ourselves. Have you ever noticed that when you “let it go” and stop worrying so much, it simply happens organically? Try it…you’ll see what I mean.
Be Creative. As Michael Jordan said in the quote above, figure out how to climb it, go through it or work around it. So be creative when those obstacles hit, and see what you can come up with to tackle it and watch that obstacle crumble.
Meditate. Every. Day. This is a hard one for me, but I’ve been working on this alot over the past year. I seem to get in grooves where I am very good about meditating every day, and then I will get busy and forget to do my meditation. Before I know it, I’m wondering why I am so damn grumpy and snappy with everyone…then I realize it’s because I’ve been slack on meditating like I should. Even just 5 minutes is beneficial, so my plan is to pick a consistent time and stick to it. My guess is that before bed will work best for me, but we’ll see. I’ll adjust if I need to.
Don’t Be Afraid. Working towards a goal can be scary, especially as the obstacles start coming. But don’t let fear get the best of you. Acknowledge it, accept it, then let it go and keep pushing towards your goal. If your goal truly means that much to you, if it is truly for the betterment of yourself, it’s worth it. Don’t forget that.
Set Your Intentions. Your intention is the plan for how you’ll achieve your main goal. So when you’re thinking about this, do so with no distractions so that you can focus and pick the plan that makes the most sense. For me, I will search out the styles of classes I’m looking for at several local studios around me, and will plan on attending any that fit my schedule…I’ll put them on my calendar so I have no excuse to miss them. For the days when I can’t attend a live class, I have found several audio podcasts that should work…the challenge will be figuring out where in my house I can do these without interruption. 🙂
Find Gratitude and Grace. Every situation we’re presented with is for a reason, in my opinion. There are no accidents. So whenever obstacles hit, no matter how bad they may seem, do your best to handle them with grace and gratitude. What did you learn from each one? Focus on that…focus on how each one made you THAT much better!

Good luck with this…I know that personally, I always do better when I am working on goals with other people. So if any of you out there in blog land want to join me, helping to keep each other accountable, I would LOVE that! Your goal doesn’t have to be the same as mine…just pick one thing in yoga that you want to work on this coming year, and let’s check in with each other every week to see how we’re doing. Any takers?

Namaste,

Melanie