Resolutions not working? Feeling lost? Try this.

Have you ever set a goal, determined you were going to make it work this time no matter what and then… life got in the way and it never happened?

Maybe you wanted to lose weight and a few weeks into going to the gym, you get sick and skip a week and then… never go back.

Maybe you want to read more books this year or start a business or change jobs or do more community work… and then… life.

And then usually, you feel like a failure. You’re disappointed in yourself. You determine that you’ll try again next week. You’ll start tomorrow or Monday. And the cycle continues. Next week never arrives. Tomorrow never comes. You don’t feel good Monday so push it off to Tuesday.

This happens to us all. It’s a bummer of a cycle and very frustrating.

Or possibly you’re in the camp where you feel lost and you just don’t know where to go, what to do or what goals you should have.

And I hope this isn’t true for you, but some people even give up on setting goals altogether. If this lights your heart up and makes you feel free, then great. But if this feels like giving up then take heart. There is another route. 

Don’t let the voice of fear disguised as practicality thwart your dreams. 

And don’t put off getting started just because of the time it will take to get there. The time will pass anyways. 

Here is an incredibly helpful tool for you. How did I come up with this, you ask? Not sure. I just started doing this years ago and have found it HUGELY helpful in achieving dreams and goals. I don’t even know exactly how it works (you can let me know your theories in the comments, if you like), but I do know it works brilliantly.

I call it:

Future Journaling

Here’s what you do:

Step 1: Grab a journal.

Step 2: Write down a date in the future. It could be 1 year from now, 3 years, or just next month. No rules. You choose.

Step 3: Journal as if it were that day and as if your dreams and visions had come true. Boom. This produces a crazy shift in your brain. You’re writing AS IF that goal had already been achieved. It puts you in an excited, fresh state of mind. Rather than mully-grubbing that you haven’t gotten to where you want to be yet, you (if only for a few moments) slip into the state of having achieved it already.

And this sensation doesn’t leave you when you stop the journaling process. It stays with you throughout the day. Your brain will start to pick up on new things and see things you didn’t notice before. It’s almost as if your brain starts to search for ways to make this new, envisioned reality real for you.

Things to Keep in Mind:

-Be as general or specific as you like. I tend to prefer specifics. Dollar amounts. Pounds lost. Places visited, etc. But if you just aren’t sure exactly, then go general. I actually did this with my yarn business when I first started it. And my reality now completely blows that original dream out of the water.

-Focus on the feelings you’d have if these experiences came true. How amazing do you FEEL on this date in the future, now that you’ve lost those 20 lbs? Incredible! Write down those feelings.

-Write in present tense, or past tense, as if it’s happening now or already has happened. For example: “I worked out for 45 minutes today and kept my sugar intake to less than 10 grams! I feel incredible. My energy is through the roof and so far I’m down 20 lbs!”

-How often should you do this? Up to you. I really don’t do this that often, although, daily would be fantastic and probably more effective. You choose.

-Just to avoid confusion later, you can put a note that you’re future journaling. I haven’t in the past, and have grabbed notebooks and started reading and thought… what? I met the president? When? Oh, yeah, I was just future journaling.

This is not to say that everything you write down will come true. Obviously. You still need to set your goals and raise your standards and take daily action toward whatever you want to achieve. But this is a great exercise for shifting out of your stuck mindset, allowing ideas to flow through you (who knows what your mind and heart will come up with!) and it’s just loads of fun.

I hope this technique helps you! If you do try it, let me know what you think.

If you have another technique that helps you achieve your goals, comment below and help the rest of us out!

Enjoy your day!

Chandi

P.S. For those that will ask, I’m wearing my Bronze Age hat pattern.

P.S.S. The notebook I’m holding is my beloved Danielle LaPorte Limited Edition Daily Planner. Can’t recommend it highly enough.