If you’re going to successfully achieve the goals and dreams you set for yourself, you must start with an honest assessment of where you are today. Regardless of what it is you want to achieve, something you’re doing in your life right now will need to change. If you’re honest with yourself, then you will find what is holding you back from being all that you were born to be. Maybe you want to be an author, a speaker, open your own business, travel the world, start a not for profit, or change careers. Whatever it is you desire, something in your life right now is holding you back from attaining it. Maybe it’s your health, your finances, time, or needing further education. The goal is to align your actions with what it is you truly desire to achieve. For example, if you want to open your own business or change careers, you may need to get your finances in order first. You will need to determine for yourself what it is you truly desire to accomplish and what it is you will need to conquer first to get there. This self-assessment will help you begin with an honest look at where you are today verses where you want to be. Let’s go!
Confess and Forgive – Secrets make you sick and unforgiveness harbors anger and bitterness. The first step to assessing your current situation honestly is to confess any secrets you may be holding deep within. EVERYONE has something they’re not proud of, mistakes from the past, or bad choices. You’re not alone in this. It’s time to let go of any shame and regrets and move on to your greatness. Find a mentor, a coach, a good friend you trust, your spouse, a pastor, priest, or your counselor, and confess anything you’ve been carrying around with you that’s literally killing you inside. Admit your mistakes and start now with a clean slate. The absolute hardest thing to do is to forgive yourself, but you must do it to move into who you were born to be. Once you’ve forgiven yourself, you can now start the process of forgiving others. EVERYONE has been hurt by someone or even often by many people. People who are supposed to love us have harmed us somehow. You’re probably no different. You have those who you struggle to forgive because of the hurt they’ve caused you. Let’s first start with the fact, you most likely are justified in your anger or unforgiveness. Especially, if someone has harmed you physically, emotionally, or harmed someone you love. You have every right to hate them and not forgive them, but the question you want to ask yourself is, should you? The truth is the only person all this anger and unforgiveness is harming is you. It’s holding you back, and you must take action to let it go. It’s hard, but you can do it. It will unload 1000 pounds off your shoulders when you decide to forgive and move on. FORGIVENESS is hard. It’s hard to forgive those who’ve harmed you and even harder to forgive yourself of your personal wrong choices, but it’s the first step to be your personal best.
Do Your Actions Align with Your Desires? What is it you deeply desire to achieve? Is it losing weight or being more productive and organized? It doesn’t matter what your goal is, when your actions don’t align with your desires, it causes mayhem within your mind. You know what you should do, but you do the opposite. You want to lose weight, but you find yourself in the drive through every day. You need to be more productive, but you end up engrossed in the new net flick movie. Sound familiar? This kind of behavior can cause depression and a lack of self-confidence. Most simple forms of depression are simply because the person feel anxiety about the choices they make. People struggle with overcoming procrastination and simply living life without any kind of plan. Most float through life winding wherever it leads without taking time to be intentional in what it is they most desire. If this is you, the time to change this is now. You will never get where you want to be flying by the seat of your pants. You must have an actionable plan, and a clear vision of where you want to be. Start today making the choices that will make you proud of yourself. Don’t be afraid to invest in the tools and resources that can help you get your actions in align with your goals and dreams. You are worth it!
A Grateful and Positive Attitude – How is your attitude? Do you look at the cup half full or half empty? Be honest with yourself and truly think about the self-talk that goes on in your mind. When you see other successful people, are you genuinely happy for them, or is there some small hint of jealousy and coveting going on? Are you happy and proud of what you’ve accomplished so far? A grateful heart is the most powerful energy you can have to keep you moving towards your goals and dreams. Be happy where you are but keep your eye on the prize. When life throws your curve balls, it is easy to feel defeated and the desire rushes over you to give up and throw in the towel, but don’t let that happen. If you can learn to treat every tough lesson as a blessing in disguise and keep optimism at the forefront of your mind, you will accomplish so much more. There are very few things you can control in life, but your attitude is definitely one you have the most control over. Remember, a grateful and positive attitude is a behavior. Behaviors can be learned and mastered with practice. If you can be honest with where you are and decide now to work towards change, you can live with peace and joy with where you are now, and the hope that the best is yet to come.
What is Your Motivation? – What’s the reason you want to accomplish whatever it is you desire to achieve? Getting real with yourself about why you need to be successful will be the motivation you need when the going get’s tough. The best way to get to the honest reason of why you need to achieve your goals is start making a list of every reason you can think of as to why you must be successful. Write them down on a piece of paper and keep listing until you come across the why that makes you cry. When you feel an emotional pull within your spirit, that’s the why you want to focus on. If you need to lose weight, but you’ve struggled staying on a healthy eating plan, recalling the honest reason you desire to reach a healthy weight is critical for success. Maybe you have children you want to set an example for or maybe you have been diagnosed with a scary health issues that could ultimately take your life if you don’t reach your goal. It’s challenging to get this real and honest with yourself, but it is necessary if you truly desire to achieve your deepest desires.
When you take the time to have an honest self-assessment, and be real with where you are today, where you want to be, and why you want it, your success journey can begin. Ultimately, you can’t tap into your fullest potential unless you have an honest heart to heart talk with yourself. It’s where success starts. Take time today to go through the above questions with an honest heart and an open mind. Take full responsibility for where you are today, and where you will be tomorrow. Remember, you are the star of your own show. You must show up and bring your best to have a hit!