Start

Baby steps. Ever since I received my undergraduate degree that’s exactly what the last 3 years have been for me, small progressions forward and back and then further forward again. What I like to say to myself daily is, “wellll, you win some you lose some.” I say that as my trigger or a reminder to myself to smile when something is not quite going my way. That’s life, we have to balance the highs with the lows, manage the wins with the losses, but how? What are some effective ways to deal with the fucking frustrations of the setbacks? We may have planned for them and nature intended for us to encounter adversity but at times those setbacks can drive us to feel as though as we have been kicked in the nuts, struggling to get up and #KeepPushingForward 

It is always easier said than done to have a growth mindset, or to look at each setback with the perspective that even if you lose, get injured, or get a flat tire the situation you are faced with will ultimately make you stronger. You can look at those instances with the perspective that this is GOOD. Something fortunate is going to come from this unfortunate situation. There is something good to LEARN from this wretched situation that will help me succeed in the future. I AM supposed to be here right now. This is good.

This is going to help me in the future, but how?

It is good to talk about the confusion that is going on in our life. It helps us sort our shit out. It helps us stay on track. We are all the experts of our own lives, we know ourselves and what we want better than anyone else. However, at times it can be hard to see our own potential or hard to use it the way we intended. We need to connect with our potential. Our potential begins with our thoughts. For me the best way to connect with my potential is to discuss ALL my thoughts with the people I am close to, both personally and professionally. That is why I chose mental performance consulting as my profession, I believe the most growth can come through listening and discussing. In reality, when most of us go out on the town or spend time with our friends, family, and colleagues we just share all the highlights of our recent lives. It is our social media news feeds but now with a couple paragraph description of each picture taken coming to you live with laughter and background stories.

On my road trip (that I spoke of in my previous post) and after I wrote my first blog I realized a place I had taken a step backward in the past 9 months. I had stopped journaling about my daily life and my downfalls and the revelations that came with them. This was something that had helped me focus on my daily baby steps forward.

Yes, I write in my journal after I meet with clients and coaches as a mental performance consultant. However, I had been forgetting to connect with Zac, the ambitious individual. On the road trip I listened to “Happier: Learn the Secrets to Daily Joy and Lasting Fulfillment” on CD by Tal Ben-Shahar PhD. He reminded me that happier people, people who tend to respond positively to negative situations keep a daily gratitude list. They tend to see each challenge as an opportunity. Then I remember back in grad school when Dr. Lauren Tashman encouraged us to write out a gratitude list and an accomplishment list. I remember how her suggestion to do this at first seemed like a tedious chore but it really did help increase my confidence.

The other day I was reading an article entitled “How to Mentally Recover from an Injury” by Brad Stulberg. In it world class endurance athlete Amelia Boone talked about how a gratitude list has been a major part of her year long recovery process. As she says, it’s NOT about getting back to where you WERE it is about moving FORWARD from where you’re at RIGHT NOW. Below is an example of how I connect with myself by journaling each day for the past 3 weeks in order to keep moving forward in the direction I wish.

Don’t add all 4 to your daily routine right away, choose one that looks most appealing to start and as you become consistent add others to your daily journal or as I call it my daily journal meditation. Cheers, Zac

#1) Bad > Good: What good can come from the bad/ negative/frustrating/tedious events today?

#2) Gratitude list: 3-5 things I am grateful for right now? To really connect, write out why.

#3) Start, Stop, & Continue from today?

#4) What did I accomplish today?

Baby steps