Lower the Bar
A lot of what you see me post on social media is positive and encouraging. I want everyone around me to know that they can dream big and do amazing things - so much more than they even know. You might find it surprising then that my advice on how to actually accomplish those things is almost the opposite: You need to lower the bar.
When you pick a goal, I want you to shoot for the stars. Don't settle for that job you're not happy in. Don't talk yourself out of what you really want to do because you're afraid to say it out loud. Go for it! But once you know where you are aiming… once you have your north star… the way to get there is not to aim high. You need to aim low. Like, really low.
Let me explain. The idea for this week came to me the other day when I was doing yoga. I'm sure as soon as you read that you have an image in your head of what that must look like or the type of person I am. I'm sure, in your head, I'm in perfect matching leggings and sports bra, twisting my body into different shapes while I breath calmly and peacefully. Let me assure you, that is far from the truth. While I'll never say no to a cute outfit, my yoga practice is mostly me laughing as I attempt positions that I would believe to be impossible, if I wasn't staring at the instructor on my tv doing them.
What I love about yoga though, and what made me think of this topic, are the yoga blocks. They are an accepted and encouraged part of yoga practice that is meant to literally bring the floor up to you. Can't reach that far yet? Use a block. Still can't get there? Use two blocks. Can't twist that way? Sit on a pillow. The only reason I have been able to stick with yoga for the past 6 months is because of the encouragement from the instructors reminding me that it's okay to lower the bar. We can and should have big goals, but we're not going to reach them in the first week.
6 months later, I can now do positions I couldn't do before. I used to have to step into plank. Now, I can hop. But I remember the first week when I saw the instructor hop and I tried to do it and stumbled. I wanted to give up. I wanted to assume that I just wasn't built that way. I'm just not strong enough. But the truth is my body just wasn't ready for it yet, and that's okay.
Is there something you've given up on? Maybe a new year's resolution that never happened? Or a dream that you tried to go after, but some discouragement at the beginning made you quit? Revisit those goals today. Is it still something you want? If it is, figure out what your yoga blocks are and stack them as high as you need. Your goal isn't perfection, it's consistency.
