Body Mind Matters: New Beginnings, Part Three

Yet, each time this assignment was done and reviewed in session, the person doing it felt her energy shift. Many times I had them read it twice and pause for verbal congratulations from me so that they could really take in what they had accomplished. It’s a great exercise to do with a friend, loved one, or anyone you trust sharing with. You can do it on your own as well by stating your accomplishments out loud and then saying something to yourself like “good job,’’ or “that was a great effort,” anything that makes you feel good.

Evaluate Your Efforts
Finally, evaluating how effective your efforts are along the way will keep you from giving up when you hit stumbling points. Besides the strategies above, evaluating what’s going well and what needs to be modified will keep things flowing. Many times people give up rather than fine tuning some aspect of their goal that may not be working. Sometimes that means slowing down, working through fear, taking smaller steps, or bringing in support. Once you have made the adjustment, you can keep going. One thing I say to my clients consistently is rather than saying, “I’m starting all over,” try saying to you “I’m just picking it back up.” You are, after all, simply picking something back up that was put down for a moment. That way, all the experiences you’ve had before you hit this stumbling point will still count. You will be reminding yourself that despite the pause, you are continuing forward.

When you include who you are, how you feel, and what you need as part of the process of goal setting, you allow for the possibility of achievement. You cannot make an intention or goal without including the humanness of who you are and what’s going on in your life. That humanity, if honored, is what keeps us in touch with our capacity for change and informs of what we need to do in order to take the next step.