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of illusions and resolutions

Drawing depicting people overcoming obstacles to achieve a common goal
Image: Fenderbender

Overtime, I have come across two important lessons with respect to achieving goals. It is a still a struggle for me to imbibe the inherent truths in the lessons but I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that they hold the key to commitment to specific objectives

1.    1. You will never be good enough – We all have been blessed with fantastic ideas that can change and re-engineer our world. We are literally busting at the seams with life changing concepts and initiatives. But our mind never seems to agree with us. It tells us not to delude ourselves; great ideas are the preserve of an exclusive few and we are most certainly not part of that few. Even when we are convinced that we are on to something special or that has potential, our will is quickly worn down by the thought of the effort required to actualize the goal.
   
The excuses then begin to pour in, reason after reason why we are not qualified to chase that dream. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s losing weight, starting a sport, taking a professional exam or starting a business, the mind games are the same.

While I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject, I do know this happens because of the way our mind is wired. The mind has evolved to keep us safe by confining us to the familiar, to the comfortable zone; uncharted territory is always a risky affair, why risk such uncertainty?

2.     2. There’s still time – Just as you’ve managed to scale the mental hurdles your mind has presented you as to why you cannot achieve your goals and you convince yourself  ‘Yes You Can’, the illusion of ‘When You Can’ then materializes. The illusion of time often takes form in procrastination, as once again we entertain every imaginable excuse as to why we cannot start ‘now’.

 Many of us will learn the hard and painful way that there is no perfect time to begin. While there’s a place for planning and preparedness, we must be careful not to use that as an excuse to perpetuate our lack of commitment. Again it doesn’t matter what the goal or objective is, we must not buy into the time trap. It’s the oldest trick in the book.

Knowledge and action are two very different things, knowing what’s holding us back is one thing and having the courage to overcome and persevere is quite another. I’ll be the first to admit that self-doubt and procrastination are formidable adversaries that we wrestle with but it helps to know that the key to victory lies in our own hands, in our ability to act. NOW! The excuses will come, acknowledge them, but start anyway and persevere. God-speed.

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