Showing posts with label Reset. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reset. Show all posts

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Slow and Steady...

My initial foray into self improvement was fun. My ambition was so high that I felt I could truly do anything. I brainstormed all the things that I wanted to improve and set out improving. After a great 3 or 4 months I hit a plateau; I was getting stretched too thin and was not happy. What came next, I believe, happens to many who set out to improve and hit some difficulty. I shut down. I stopped working out, getting up early, reading thought provoking books, everything. I went from feeling like I could conquer the world to feeling like I couldn't get out of bed. The more I think about it now the more I am reminded of the many people who excitedly set New Year resolutions only to forget about them two weeks down the road. 

Where it went wrong

I got too ambitious and confident in what I thought I could do that I did not limit the goals I set to achieve to things I really, truly wanted. I had so much on my plate that I did not have time to comfortably focus on the one or two things I really wanted to do. Additionally, I probably should have limited my pace in the beginning. I sprinted the first 5 miles of a marathon, only to come up winded a fourth of the way through. (Maybe the tortoise was really right...)

What I am doing about it

Instead of dwelling too much on my failures I know that I have to focus on the present and the things I can do now. Focus on what I want to accomplish and how I want to do it. Rather than the rigid, utilitarian approach I previously took, I am only going to set out to improve things I truly care about and make me happy. Over the next few days I will be thinking about where I am currently and where I want to be.

Photo: cliff1066