“It’s this feeling of improvement that drives me and keeps me motivated”
During lockdown, I’ve set several goals for myself. I’ve had several setbacks with some of these goals though.
Take sleep for example. In order to improve my sleep quality, I set myself a goal of having all electronics switched off by 10pm. This is important for improving sleep quality because your body interprets the light from electronic devices as sunlight. In response to sunlight your body produces stress hormones, whose role is to wake you up! As a result of these hormones circulating, it can take longer to reach the deep sleep so crucial for physical repair.
In the early stages, I was achieving it every night, and noticed a quick improvement in how I felt during the day. But there were a few nights in which I didn’t manage to get electronics switched off until between 10 and 11 pm. On these nights, it took me longer to get to sleep and I felt more tired the next day. It took a few days of getting back to good habits before I started to feel the benefits again.
While I started to feel better quickly, I didn’t feel “optimal” quickly and I’m still not there yet. But I’m getting closer and closer to feeling optimal each day and each week. It’s this feeling of improvement which drives me and keeps me motivated.
“Why is this important to you?”
Why is this important to you? Because many, many times, people give up on themselves too soon before achieving a goal because the end result they want hasn’t happened fast enough for them. We all know people who’ve made a mistake on their nutrition plan one day and decided that because of that they’ve blown the whole thing and given up on it. We all know someone who’s started on a goal and made excellent progress, changed the way they look or feel, but then had a down day about how much further they still have to go, and taken a freefall back to where they started because they grew impatient, or because their old way of living just seemed so much easier.
“Life is often like training for the Olympics”
Life is often like training for the Olympics. You might have to train yourself for four years to get where you really want to go. Some people can do things faster, and might get to the world championships after two years, but they’ll still keep working hard after that and compete in the Olympics as well. And yes, only a few will achieve a gold medal, but those who stay the course and never give up on themselves will still be able to say that they are an Olympian.
Wherever you are today, it took time for you to get here. Wherever you want to get to, it will take time to get there too. This is why it’s so important to recognise improvement.
You might not feel how you want to yet, but are you feeling better than you did, even a bit? If you are, this is a success worth celebrating. Don’t focus on your end goal so much that you lose sight of what you are achieving now, because the cliché saying is true, the journey IS as important as the destination.
Going back to my sleep example, I’m loving that I’m waking up each day feeling a bit more rested. I’m loving that I’m dreaming much more, and I enjoy looking back on those mini-night-time adventures I’ve had when I wake each morning. Focusing on these day by day improvements keeps me focused on doing the things that get them for me.
“Understand the process, make peace with it”
If you’ve ever given up on yourself too soon, understand the process, make peace with it. Don’t beat yourself up if you know you’ve done this before in the past. Be thankful that you’ve had an experience you can learn from, so you know you won’t repeat it again and you’ll know what to expect when future doubts arise.
The journey to success is often a long one, they say it takes years of hard work to become an overnight success. Resist being someone who gives up on themselves too soon by recognising every time you make an improvement and treating it as a signpost that you’re heading in the right direction.
Steve Shreeve