We are too hard on ourselves. Throughout our life, most of us pick apart our looks, abilities, and goals. The tendency to put ourselves down or tell ourselves we aren’t good enough is extremely common. However, what would happen if we changed how we saw ourselves?

Have Patience

No one achieved perfection on their first try. Maybe the truth is that no one achieves perfection, ever. But what would happen if we all stopped once we reached our first goal? We would never form new plans or new ways to grow and be better. For this reason, we can continue to set goals and learn how to fail.

Failing isn’t a bad thing, though! When we fail, we learn how not to do something, or we figure out some other way to achieve our goals. Another aspect of failing is, instead of reaching a goal we thought we wanted, we find a new path or invention. Throughout our journey, we have the chance to regroup, assess a situation, and grow.

Patience is the key to finding our way. We need to learn how to forgive ourselves if we don’t make a goal or find ourselves where we thought we would be by a particular time. Our time, our path, isn’t predetermined. We can change anything. What we need to change is faith in the process.

Some ways to find patience while we are working our way towards health are:

• Meditation
• Mindfulness
• Connecting with your spiritual self

Any or all of these coping skills can help us step back and reassess where we are and how we want to proceed.

Write Down Your Goals

Do our goals scare us? That’s good. When a goal scares us, this allows us to wonder what if we can achieve the goal, try new things, and push our limitations. It’s okay if you’re not sure you can achieve a goal. However, to help you achieve success, you can break your goal into small steps.

Unfortunately, there are times when our path is blocked by the unexpected. It’s okay to become frustrated, but we can’t allow ourselves to quit. Some obstacles are fortunate. Maybe an obstacle occurred because another person’s paths crossed ours. For those who believe in spirituality, we can think of an obstacle as a diversion that can lead us to a better outcome.

Whatever happens, we can focus on where we are going. Friends, family, and challenges are a part of our journey. We can learn to embrace the ups and downs without blaming ourselves. We can’t control everything.

Post, Post, Post

Before we can post our goal, we should decide why we want to achieve a goal. When we think about making a healthy change in our life, we take the first step towards achieving our goal. After that, we can proceed forward by committing ourselves by posting our goal as a method of holding ourselves accountable.

We don’t need to post our goals on social media, though. As long as we post our goals somewhere we can see, we’ll remain aware of the goal that we’ve set. The critical part of reaching goals is to keep them accessible, both figuratively and literally.

Switch It Up

What does switching it up mean?  Life is full of the unknown. We can’t be afraid to make changes within our steps to our goal. If we find we are exhausted, mentally or physically, we need to listen to our mind or body.

Don’t be afraid to shake up your routine. Setting a routine is essential, but so is keeping our routine interesting. Habits don’t have to be boring. One thing we can remind ourselves of is that we are responsible for our mental and physical health. Reassessing our routine can mean we find activities that are better suited to our current situation. For example, what if we decided we wanted to incorporate meditation into our daily routine? Alternatively, maybe we realize meditating isn’t helping us reach our goal of inner peace. We can switch to another form of mind-body activity.

Know the Difference Between Discomfort and Dysfunction

Dysfunction is when there is a deviation in social norms viewed as harmful. For example, substance addiction or a mental health disorder can cause dysfunction in our lives. Discomfort is when we feel uneasy or anxious about a situation. For example, the decision to enter substance or mental health treatment can cause discomfort. The choice to make healthy lifestyle changes, set goals, and learn to be flexible is difficult. First, however, we must learn to find comfort in the uncomfortable. Then, we can fail, learn, and discover who we are and what we want to achieve through our journey.

A self-forgiving routine consists of several factors. First, we must redefine how we see ourselves and what we are capable of achieving. Our commitment to ourselves translates to self-forgiveness. We know we aren’t perfect. Perfection isn’t something we should achieve. Instead, our belief in ourselves comes from patience, flexibility, and the willingness to change. Knowing when to get treatment for substance use or mental health is an integral part of goal-setting. Our ability to know when we need to seek help is how we can succeed. Learning self-forgiveness is possible when we turn to professionals trained to guide us towards our goals. The Kimberly Center believes everyone can achieve their goals. We support your decision to learn more about your whys. Treatment bolsters your path to a healthy life. Our therapists work with you to form a treatment plan that reflects your needs. Your success in meeting your goals is important. Call us at (855) 452-3683 for information.