Progress vs. Completion
Do you feel like you're constantly on a treadmill in terms of working toward the life you want? Like the to-do list never ends and just when you work through one piece of self-doubt another one pops up?
I had some fruitful conversations with Private Coaching clients this week on this topic because I don't think it's always clear how subtly our mindset can motivate or discourage us in any area of your life (dating, work, money, productivity, anything). And it can often feel when you're describing a mindset shift, it's can feel a little like semantics.
For example, you can say you want to go on a 10 mile run. You lace up your shoes (and this ones gonna have to be you my friend because your girl doesn't like running!), get going and at mile 6, you are friggin' done. In this moment, you have two different ways to look at the situation: you've already run 6 miles or you still have 4 to go.
One focuses on the finish line, the other on your progress.
Now some of you might be thinking: "I like thinking about how much I have left to go because I like to see the number count down from 4 miles to go, to 3, to 2, etc." And yes, that's true - there's a reason why exercise classes everywhere use this technique. But I'd actually argue that is more similar to saying "I've already run 6 miles."
Notice the difference between "OMG I still have 4 more to go" and "OMG I only have 4 more to go!"
The energy that you feel around that second option, where you're feeling a wind at your back toward the finish line, that is mindset. The number of miles you still have to go is exactly the same but your motivation and willingness to keep going is supported.
Unfortunately, in the majority of areas of our life, we do not get to know how long the run is (say until you meet your long term partner or the business takes off) and for other areas of our life, we're actually always going to need to keep going.
Think about it this way, you're probably not discouraged by the fact that you have to eat dinner every night. Every day you eat, your body digests and then you do it again the next day. The fact that it's an ongoing maintenance thing is not debilitating or discouraging.
For areas like confidence, growth, self-trust, positive self-talk, these will all be maintained as a routine not a goal to be achieved or a race to finish.
And this is why mindset is absolutely crucial! If we rely on the finish line for our 10 mile run in order to motivate us on something that's actually more of a treadmill, we'll inevitably get discouraged. And just like eating dinner every night, really learning how to make this shift takes repetition and consistently coming back to.
But when we learn to motivate ourselves, be proud of ourselves, and celebrate ourselves based on the progress not on the outcome, we create an infinitely more sustainable, resilient and motivated structure for ourselves.
So this week - can you take a pause and in whatever area you feel frustrated that you're not "there" yet, whether it's having found your long term partner or achieved a certain income or a certain lifestyle, can you reflect not on how many miles left you have but how far you've come? What progress have you made? How are you closer than you were a few years ago?
And celebrate that today.
