Becoming a Driver Not a passenger

When dealing with resistance, remember to keep your eye on your goal so that you don’t get too far off course. Setbacks are your opportunity to change your life—to meet those old ideas you have about yourself and move past them without letting them slow you down too much.

Don’t think it will necessarily be easy. Confronting these attitudes means tearing down parts of your belief system. This can be scary. After all, you’ve spent your whole life creating and embracing these beliefs. Everything you’ve done has been supported by them. You may even feel a sense of loyalty to them. If they say you don’t have the talent to accomplish your new goal, going ahead with it could feel like a betrayal or just a silly escapade that will eventually embarrass you and prove that your old beliefs are right.

It takes courage and persistence to confront the resistance you meet when you set a goal. It also requires directed movement. Do you have a map in your mind showing various ways to get from where you are now to where you want to be?

If you’ve never been somewhere before, a map is advantageous. It’s just as true when you set out to reach a goal. Unfortunately, people who speak about goal-setting often gloss over this part as if beginning the journey is the easiest aspect of reaching one’s goal.

Actually, it isn’t. I put it right up there with the first time you get behind the wheel of a car and have to turn left onto a busy highway from a parking lot. It seems impossible, and you put the car in reverse several times to back up and look for a better way out. But don’t be discouraged if it feels like you don’t have a clue in the beginning. Most people don’t. It’s only afterward when they’ve figured it out that clarity arrives, and they no longer remember being unsure of the steps along the way.

Be sure to stretch yourself! If you don’t, you will choose goals consistent with your beliefs about yourself. Such goals encounter little resistance and are easy to achieve. Stretching yourself increases your confidence as you meet setbacks so that you can continue on.

Even the nature of your goals may change. You may choose the scenic route rather than the freeway because you understand that the journey is more important than the destination. When you finally do reach your goal, you will already be making plans for the next journey. You will never be a passenger again!


Regards
Dhanasekar