Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

19th March 2014

Spring heralds a time of change. In the world around us, we see the wheel of the year continue on its cycle and enter a new phase and, whether we like it or not, we’re going along for the ride! Sometimes it can feel like we need just a few more winter weeks to really gather our thoughts and ideas before we bring them into the light. But spring comes leaping and bouncing into our lives with the energy of the lambs, and demands that we shake off the cobwebs and dance into the warmer, brighter days.

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

19th March 2014

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

19th March 2014

Perhaps you’ve a project or idea you’ve been mulling over on the dark winter nights. You’ve given it your time and energy, gently feeding it with the intuition and insight that the dark time of the year offers. Maybe it’s a business idea you’ve been playing with, or a project you’d like to embark on with your kids. Perhaps it’s a learning adventure you crave, or a commitment to get healthy and strong. You might have been dreaming of travel, or simply getting your life back on track after a period of unrest or change. Now is the time to peel back the layers and reveal your dream to the world.

Here are five tools for your spring-time toolkit to help you bring that dream to fruition:
Visualise your success
Research shows that visualising your success – e.g. seeing yourself in the new role you dream for yourself – is a big factor in actualising your goal. Find a place where you won’t be disturbed and spend some time really inhabiting where you want to go: what does it feel like? what does it look like? how do other people respond? Live that experience. Sometimes this can throw up challenges – perhaps deep down you have a belief that you aren’t capable of reaching your goal. You find yourself resisting the experience, believing on some level that you’re not worthy of success or enjoyment on that scale. That’s okay, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just keep on trying to inhabit that space, allowing yourself the pleasure and gradually you will begin to release that resistance.

Hold yourself accountable
If you want to launch a home business, you have to play both boss and employee. How impressed would you be if your new recruit kept phoning in sick, coming up with more elaborate excuses every day? Or just saying ‘I’m too tired today, I might come in tomorrow’. You’d give them the sack pretty sharpish, right?! If you want something, you have to commit to getting it and part of that is turning up. Whether it’s getting a fitness programme off the ground, writing a novel, or launching a business, commit to achievable goals. Write them down on a chart and mark off daily, weekly and monthly achievements. You’ll get a glow of satisfaction when the ticks start adding up, and you’re more likely to continue if you can see the overall picture. Perhaps you’ll promise to find 5 minutes a day to devote to your project – chances are, once you’ve done your 5 minutes you’ll want to continue but if you can only do 5 minutes on a really busy day, you know you’ve done your best. And really, what’s 5 minutes?

Buddy up
Research shows that you’re more likely to commit to your goals if you tell other people about them. For one, the embarrassment of having to say you’ve given up is enough to make most people slog out the tougher bits. But having someone else with the same goal is another great way to see it through. If you’ve taken up a sport, see if you can find someone who will do it with you. You’re far more likely to go out for that run in the rain if your friend is waiting for you on the doorstep. With goals that are more solitary, such as writing or crafting, it can help to access the support and camaraderie of fellow aspirants. That might mean joining an online support group (be mindful of how much time you spend ‘chatting’ online however as this can really nibble away at your creative time) or simply arranging a meet up in a local café to talk about progress. Or give your partner or a friend your goal chart and make sure they keep tabs on how you’re doing.

Take yourself out of your comfort zone
Surprise yourself by doing something you never thought you would. Push yourself that little bit harder to achieve more than you’d planned to. Too often, when we’ve done something we’re proud of we rest on our laurels for a bit and stop taking it that step further. So it can really help to shake it up and find our edge again, particularly when we’ve been cruising along in our comfort zone for too long. Perhaps you’re going back to work after a long hiatus, or planning a trip that will require a great deal of stamina. What if you stopped saying ‘I can’t do that’, and really believed it was possible? What if you trusted yourself enough to make it happen? Feeling that thrill of achievement, especially when it’s mingled with the adrenalin of leaping off into the unknown, awakens all our senses and reminds us just how capable we are. That has a knock-on effect in all aspects of our lives, as we begin to realise our potential. You are a brilliant being and the world is waiting for your talent! Go out and show the world what you’re made of.

Prioritise your goals
In lives that are already crammed to bursting with parenting duties and maybe work as well, it can be hard to find time for our dreams. But if you want to bring them to fruition, you have to shift things around to make time. Call in friends and family to help out with babysitting duties, tell your partner you need a day or a half day away from the home, have an activity pre-prepared for your kids when they get home – whatever it takes, factor that extra time into your schedule. Whenever you can, find a day when you can fully focus on your dreams away from other responsibilities. That might be hard when your children are small especially if they’re still breastfeeding, so you might need to adapt it to fit your family’s needs, but just seeing that date on the calendar is uplifting and inspiring. Make sure you have whatever tools you need – journal, craft materials, computer, yoga mat etc. – ready to go so you don’t waste precious time setting up. Putting your dreams centre stage also sends out an important message to your kids that dreams are worth pursuing and that you love yourself enough to go for them.

loading