Why You aren't Reaching Your Goals
When we have a goal, big or small, we’ve determined the “WHAT.” The first hurdle then becomes the HOW. The brain loves to solve problems, and so the second we put a new question into our brain, it will begin finding solutions.
I’ve wanted to learn how to do a handstand as part of my yoga practice for at least 5 years. Once I decided that, my brain went to work, and kept mental notes when I saw workshops for inversions so I could find the one I wanted and sign up.
After that though, we have to show up and take action. And, we know that to learn something new requires consistent action. It turns out that taking consistent action is harder than we think it is because if we’re not managing our mind (which most of us don’t and/or are still learning to do), we will begin operating from our “old mind” or “primitive mind” in almost every situation.
The old mind or primitive mind’s only priority is to keep us safe and alive. This part of our brain hasn’t evolved at the same rate that our lifestyle has. Maybe you’ve heard the explanation about how our system will go into “fight or flight” even when we’re not being chased by a tiger, but when we’re giving a presentation. This is that. And, the primitive mind (as well as the whole brain) wants us to be as efficient as possible.
Therefore, if the action we want to take towards our goal isn’t to remove us from harm in this moment, the primitive brain won’t find it necessary to take action. This is why every morning when you say you’re going to get up super early this time, the morning comes and you don’t, or that little voice says, “Ohhh, but we’re still tired, and we can just do that later.”
When I wanted to learn handstand, my primitive mind would always say something like, “Well, we’ve got to warm up and do all these drills and do a whole hour of yoga before we start, etc, etc. We don’t have time.” Instead of just kicking up into handstand several times per day, I never practiced.
This is a key training moment for our minds. It’s important to know that you still have the steering wheel of your primitive mind, because you have a prefrontal cortex (which is the part of the brain that only humans have to plan ahead and dream). Every time the prefrontal cortex redirects the primitive mind, you create a new pathway for taking action towards your goal. And every time you take action, it will get you closer and closer to your dream life or finally making progress on that one goal.
Now, every morning, I go outside, do a little workout, and then hop into handstand and forearm stand several times. Week over week, I’m making progress and can hold it a little longer. Success!
If you’re not reaching your goals or can’t seem to stick to the habits you want, send me a message on the “Contact” page to have a chat about what might be holding you back and learn a simple system to start achieving all the things you want in life and at work.