Half the year is almost gone, and you might have reached a point where you feel discouraged and disappointed because things haven’t played out how you wanted them to. There are goals that you haven’t accomplished, projects that you haven’t even started, and time wasted on things that didn’t help you achieve your dreams.
You’re wondering what to do, but you cannot muster any strength or determination to turn things around. You feel emotionally and mentally drained. But there is some little hope inside that keeps you from completely giving up.
These feelings of discouragement are temporary and inevitable, but you are capable of taking charge, changing your life, and being happy and fulfilled.
In this blog post, I am sharing a simple and comprehensive Life Reset Action Plan to help you turn things around. It consists of four steps, each with guided tasks that you can follow. Everything is laid out and explained thoroughly.
Ready to get started? Grab a notebook and pen, and let’s go through these steps together.
To support your journey, I've created a free Life Reset Action Plan Workbook. This downloadable resource guides you through each of the four steps in a clear and organized way.
Step 1 Identify what has led to feeling discouraged
To overcome these feelings, I think it is important to discover the why. Understanding what has led to them is the first step to shift your mindset and turn things around. How can you make changes if you are not sure what it is you have to change? That’s why I created a few questions to identify what has led to feeling discouraged.
These questions require honesty and they might make you uncomfortable, but it is important to truthfully and objectively answer them so you can truly discover why you're feeling discouraged.
➥ Has there been a specific event or situation that triggered this feeling?
➥ Do I feel like I am not making any progress towards reaching my goals?
➥ Do my current goals or projects feel uninspiring or out of reach?
➥ Do I have unrealistic expectations for myself?
➥ Am I focusing on what I haven't achieved rather than what I have achieved?
➥ Am I preoccupied with things I cannot control?
➥ Am I not paying attention to the things I can control?
➥ Am I blaming external factors for my lack of progress?
➥ Do I need to adjust my plan to achieve my goals?
➥ Am I lacking motivation or direction to pursue my dreams?
➥ Are there any negative self-beliefs or limiting thoughts that triggered this feeling?
➥ Have I been waiting for things to happen instead of taking action?
Step 2 Identify what needs to be adjusted
After answering the questions, you have a clear picture of what has been going on, and you’re ready to take the next step: identifying what needs to be adjusted. This is personal and will depend on the specific causes you identified.
To help make this easier, and focus your efforts accordingly, you can break down your life into different areas (emotional, environmental, occupational, financial, physical, nutritional, intellectual, spiritual, and social). Then, for each area, you will identify 1 thing you can focus on that you can control, and 1 thing to let go of that is out of your control.
Step 3 Create an action plan to visualize and map out your goals
Once you’ve identified why you’re feeling disheartened, and the adjustments you need to make, you’re ready to move forward with an action plan. Because we’ve been dealing with an emotionally and mentally difficult period, it is important to take things one step at a time. Don’t try to figure it out all at once. Just focus on the things that will have the biggest impact on overcoming this discouragement.
It is important to have a plan where you can visualize and map out your goals. This helps you focus on what’s truly important, and have a clear picture of what actions you need to take.
You can start by defining what life area you want to focus on, writing down why you feel discouraged, and the most impactful adjustment you can make to overcome those feelings.
Then, you will create your goals using the Be-Do-Have method.
Be Goals
Aspirations related to personal qualities or skills you want to develop
Do Goals
Actions you want to take to achieve your dream life
Have Goals
Tangible objects or outcomes you strive for
You will focus on writing down one of each goal type. For each goal, you will identify one task you can do and then establish a timeline (start date and finish date), determine the resources you have and the resources you need, and write down your milestones (tangible and measurable ways you’ll know you’re making progress or reached your goal).
Step 4 Create a self-motivational system
Even though having a written plan is important to have clarity and direction, it’s not all there is to overcome discouragement. The final step is having a self-motivational system. My experience has been that many times in the past, I haven’t been able to push through feeling disheartened and discouraged because I didn’t see the point in trying after I’d failed.
Each person can have different motivators, depending on their personality and preferences. Some small things that can help you find renewed motivation include:
Right now, you might be going through a difficult time, but it is important to know and believe that things can turn around. You are capable of shifting your mindset and overcoming discouragement. Having a clear guide of what to do can help you feel refreshed and renewed to take on the rest of the year with hope, focus, and motivation.
Until next time.
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