Achievement. Success. Goals.
What kind of progress does that take?
How do you DO IT?
Understanding that the progress zone is the Same, and yet completely Different for everyone is the beginning of instant inspiration to move into the zone. Resiliency and Gratitude are tools you can utilize to get there.
The zone is consistent across the board for everyone,
meaning it is Always there.
Where it is different is that Progress IN the zone can be defined in endless ways. Progress for me might be one foot. Progress for you may be one mile. While we may measure this progress in feet or miles, our actual ability to See this progress as the same, just as important, and just as vital, is where our capability to inspire others and collectively collaborate shines. Thank You Coach!
I feel like sometimes we lose sight of progress when the “numbers” don’t go in the direction we think they should go. Whether it be your weight on a scale, your PR on a barbell, or the balance of your bank account.
Push harder! That’s not good enough! Do MORE!
Really? WHO is coaching you like that? Is it really about more?
The key here is to be aware of the numbers. Know where they are at. Know where you’d like them to go. Know what affects the numbers and how. Be aware of the context and what you need to do.
Also KNOW you are more than the numbers. Wherever they may be, high or low, on track or off track, don’t allow them to dictate how you feel about yourself. Know that you’re trying and that is enough. This will keep you centered in Knowing Who You are, so you don’t get washed around in the different tides and waves of the numbers.
For the last 7 years I’ve measured my progress through All of these avenues. But I found, that once I hit that number on the scale, or that PR on the bar I burst with feeling like a firework. I hit it! I made it! I did it! And just like a firework, that feeling fades.
Then I would ask…
Now What?
It’s this weird empty space. You thought you’d continue to feel accomplished because you’re there, at your goal, and that’s the place you wanted to be at.
What I’ve found is that you need to continually set goals, amidst and in between, before you get to any goal ‘destination’. Otherwise, you’ll end up setting the exact same goal, just in a different cycle, with different framework. It’ll have an illusory different appearance, but it’ll BE the perpetual hamster wheel.
My personal fault was always in looking at this place of a goal like a destination, All the while missing the point of continually asking the ‘now what’ during the journey. I can get so narrow and focused about my goals that I fail to see ANYTHING else on the road of the journey. Even clues shouting “Don’t go this way!”
I know, I know, people say that all of the time. “Enjoy the journey.” But what does that really mean? How do you set goals, and try to get ‘somewhere’, achieve ‘something’, but presently enjoy where you’re at? Aren’t goals a direct signifier that you’re NOT happy where you’re at?
I always needed an attitude shift in this zone. It took a long time for me to realize that where I was, where I am, IS a goal that I put out in my life long ago and that while I am grateful to be Here I also understand through that gratitude must come growth, and through acknowledging where I am in the very same breath I see where I need to go.
The truer measurement here is that of Courage. Have you courageously broached the progress zone in your Life? Are you doing it now? What is progress for YOU? How do you define it? Is it a physical triumph? Is it emotional bonds? Is it intellectual property?
Some progress seems so fleeting. It only lasts as long as it lasts. Once achievement is made sometimes I see people ‘gripping’ at straws to keep it. Which immediately drops people out of the progress zone, for now they’ve moved into operating from fear of losing something.
Rather than take a new account of where you are (appreciation) and setting new goals (acknowledgment), different goals (response-ability), traveling into a new progress zone (true ever present continual fulfillment). SUCCESS.
Sometimes Acknowledgement is all that the Grace of Gratitude needs. Acknowledgment, Acceptance, and Humility are just as powerful as Gratitude. They are equal parts ABUNDANT.
Here are some ideas of how you can get yourself to approach the NOW WHAT question, before the perpetual fall off. Really they’re clues on how to Operate from Abundance.
- Honestly Ask, Where am I? Honestly Answer.
- Realize, Review, How you got there.
- Acknowledge, Accept Response-Ability, Your Part.
- RELEASE that which you cannot change, Life’s Part.
- See what you can and would like to change, Where can you grow? What can you do now?
- Commit to action through this avenue.
- Design a plan for success.
- Follow through fluidly on the plan, be open to Life’s changes.
- Review and Refine these steps as often as possible.
Key into these feelings all throughout and along the journey, not just when you get to the next destination.
When our perception remains stagnant, we feel empty, possibly lost, or far away from the zone. You never move out of the zone. You just move through it and it expands, so you must continually make the courageous choice to expand with it. This is progress. Courage to Change with Life.
If Courage could be measured I would call it the capacity of your Heart to give Openly, Be OPEN, and Move IN Openness throughout any and all situations.
You CHOOSE to Operate IN Abundance. You CHOOSE to collaborate with whatever Life is giving you Now. When you see it this way, you’ll see the endless opportunities to dream, to believe, to TRY. And Life will start giving you opportunities to Actualize those dreams.
Life is Always Changing. Adapting Creatively WITH the Progress Zone IS Operating IN Abundance. The steps can be small and the steps can be large, but as long as the intention for the step comes from a place in your Heart towards progress you’ll find again and again that this is THE most courageous, fulfilling, step of ALL.
This IS Being IN THE ZONE.
