How to Start Over? 3 Tips on Getting Back to your Goal after Taking a Break.

I realized, it was high time. I needed to start again. I needed to start over. But how? It had been more than two months.

More than two months since I wrote a word on this blog. I have been doing a lot of other writing. Writing my book, writing study and coaching notes and material for my clients, writing social media posts etc. However, amidst all of that, this blog got compromised. And it felt super difficult to start again.

Have you been there? You exercise for 3 days, and then you stop for some reason. And with every passing day, you find it increasingly difficult to get back to exercise?

You decide to have a daily reading habit. You do it for a week. Then you have a few busy weeks at work. Now you feel guilty about abandoning the habit and find it challenging to pick up the book again.

This is what happened to me with the blog.

Every time I could not check off that “Write a blog post” from my to-do list, I felt a sense of loss, disappointment and frustration. With every passing day, the resistance grew.

“It is too late to start the blog again.”

“I will come to it when I finish writing my book.”

“What am I going to say after all these weeks and months?”

Even for a seemingly simple thing as writing my blog post, I began to have all these doubts and questions. And then I realized, I was not alone.

I have spoken to so many friends, family and clients who have told me how painful they have found to reboot and start working on a goal again after taking a break. Once the momentum is lost, it is not easy to get back on track and start running again. The resistance increases.

So, I took a deep breath. “This is not the first time I am starting over”, I told myself. And pressed “RESTART”.

Today I want to tell you how to press that restart button and get back on track with your goals and projects again. You ready?

Step 1: Identify which goal do you want to start over again. Quickly write it down on a piece of paper with me. Want to start exercising? Want to start waking up early? Just write one simple goal that you want to restart.

Step 2: Accept that falling off the track, is part of the journey. Life happens. Stuff takes over our attention and energy. What matters most, is that you are making a decision to try again. Over and over again. Pick yourself back up, every time you fall. Without judgement. With compassion.

Step 3: Take one step, right now. Write the smallest step that you can take with regards to that goal you want to get back on. Is it exercise? Stand up right now and do 3 star jumps or squats. It is healthy food? Get up and drink a glass of water. Is it reading? Read just one paragraph of any book. Take the hammer and break the jinx. Do just one minute of that task. There you go. Now you have started over again. Yes. It’s done. Now you are back on the track. Now you just need to keep running.

Step 4: Schedule a time in your calendar right now for when you will get back to this goal again. I am coming back to this blog to write on 30th June 3:00 pm for 30 minutes. That’s all. Yes of course, when the calendar reminds you, don’t press dismiss.

Step 5: Reward the Restart. When you feel like you have made a small stride in your goal again, reward your efforts. You have just won over your own internal resistance. And that is something to celebrate. Appreciate yourself. We need to do that more often.

Step 6: Repeat and follow up. Ask yourself, “Is this goal important to me?” If yes, create a check in and follow up system. Measure your progress after 3-4 weeks. Observe without judgement. And if distractions have gotten you again, remember, to press restart.

I will conclude this conversation by saying something I wrote on my Instagram page last week.

Always remember, your power is in the now. That’s all.

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Hey friends, I hope you found today’s post useful. I hope it stirred up some thoughts of your own. Now it’s your turn.

In the comments below, can you write down one goal that you are going to restart today?

What action step will you take to restart that goal?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Also, if you want daily motivation like this, do join me at my Instagram page.

See you soon! (As I said, I have already put updating my blog on my calendar. 🙂 )

Until then, Happy Monday and have a great week ahead!

Lots of love and inspiration,

Nidhi

How Creating a “Success Folder” Will Increase Your Confidence, Productivity and Happiness?

Raise your hand if any of these questions resonate with you!

Are you feeling overwhelmed by your goals and commitments?

Have you gone through a patch of low self-confidence recently or would you like to boost your confidence before an important pitch or negotiation? 

Have you felt that you are not “productive enough” these days?

And are these thoughts and questions affecting your overall happiness?

If yes, then you know that we have all been through that phase at some point or other. I definitely have been there. 

And today, I want to share with you a tool that can come quite handy during those moments.

I call it my “Success Folder”.

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So, what is a “Success Folder”?

This is a folder on your laptop, your online drive, a physical file or a box. Choose the one you prefer and can maintain it easily. This folder has a record of all your achievements and successful milestones. It can have a list of your awards, your professional recommendations or testimonials from clients and managers, photos from your important events etc. Anything that can remind you of your excellent work and your strengths, has the potential to be a part of this folder.

The idea of collecting this all in one place is to make sure that we can access all of it together when we need to.

Here is how you can use your “Success Folder” to increase your confidence, boost productivity and feel happier about your career and work?

Step 1: Create the “Success Folder”

Here are a few things that I have added to my folder.

• Positive testimonials, kind feedback and appreciation from clients and business partners
• Pictures from my important professional and personal milestones
• Pictures or notes from a time when I overcame a struggle
• A handwritten list of my achievements in my own words
• A list of my strengths with a few examples of situations when I used those strengths to get me out of trouble or helped me grow

Here are some examples. 🙂 

   

For example, when I want to boost my confidence before speaking in front of a large audience, I quickly go through photos and notes from my earlier speaking engagements. It reminds my brain that I hav done this before. Been there. Done That! 

 Step 2: Refer to your Success Folder

Whether you are having a tough day, or you are preparing for an important career event and need a confidence boost, refer to your success folder.

Going through your past achievements will remind you that if you have done this all before, you can achieve the same and even better, again.

Step 3: Update It at least Once a Month

Spend time at least once a month to update your folder. Notice and acknowledge all that you have achieved. It is okay if you feel like there is nothing new to add. Note the tiny progress that you have made to a project or a goal. 

I have noticed that regularly reminding myself of the goals I have accomplished, gives me the motivation to keep going further.

It reminds me of the opportunities I have received in the past and gives me hope that there will be others in the future.

A recap of our strengths and accomplishments also helps us keep that negative self-doubting talk in check.

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Often, we are own biggest critics. while it is important to challenge ourselves and encourage ourselves to grow, it is more important to be compassionate to ourselves and appreciate all the work we do.

By appreciating where we have been, what we have done and what we do daily, we can feel more confident, productive, and happy on the way to be where we want to be.

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This is all I wanted to share today. Will you take some time this week to create your folder? If you do, let me know what you added in there. I would love to hear from you. 

If you are interested in receiving more daily reminders, tools and motivation, join me at Instagram or LinkedIn, where I often run challenges and short live coaching sessions. 

So excited that you are part of this success and growth journey. 

All the best,

Nidhi 

   

Wednesday Wisdom: Listen Better Today

Hey Friends! 

How are you doing? We are already 21 days into the first month of 2020.  Hope we are all taking little or big strides towards our goals. 

One of my goals for this year is to write more, write everyday and grow my blog and website. 

In an effort to do this, I am trying a few things on the blog. I would love for all of you to be a part of my growth team and give me feedback on what new features you enjoy, what kind of posts you like the most and what is not working. 

Okay that said, today I am introducing a feature called “Wednesday Wisom”.

Every Wednesday, I will be here at the blog and post a very quick, punchy, coaching lesson and an activity for us to practice. What do you think?

Let’s roll. 

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Today’s lesson is “LISTEN BETTER”. 

When I coach my clients to help them make their communication more impactful, one of the key areas we work on, is “LISTENING SKILLS”. 

In today’s always on and distracted world, many of us struggle with giving complete attention when someone is talking to us. 

A few challenges that get in the way of listening better:

• Wish to interrupt with our brilliant ideas or suggestions 
• Remembering something to say or do 
• Phone distractions 
• Short attention span and shorter focus 
• The need to fact check, give suggestion etc. 

For the next 24 hours, let us all try and listen better. 

How can we listen better? 

• Turn your body towards the person who is speaking 
• Decide to give your complete attention for the duration of the conversation 
• Refrain from interrupting and giving instant suggestions 
• Use facial gestures like nodding and making eye-contact to show you are paying attention 

That is all for today. 

Here is a picture of me listening to one of the participants at a training session. 

Remember, communication is not just about speaking better. It is about listening better too. 

So, in a world where everyone is trying to get heard, let us pay attention to finally hearing them out. 

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Question for you:

What are some of the challenges you face while listening?  

Which of these above suggestions will you use to work on those challenges? 

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All the best and speak with you soon! 

With love and inspiration,

Nidhi