Do you prefer the journey of growth or the destination of a goal?
Either way, the skills of persistence and the agility of getting back on your path are extremely useful.
Think for a moment about what you've achieved, whether in work, fitness, or internal growth, for example. My bet is persistence was a factor.
What happens when, as we all do, we step off our path? It's March, the time when many yearly resolutions start to fall away. What do we do?
We have two choices once we acknowledge that we are off our path.
Step back on. Stay off.
To be sure, there is a time and a place for the second choice. And it's a different experience if it's a conscious decision to direct yourself elsewhere vs. giving up.
Here's the clincher - breathing room is the way to see where you are with what you want in your life - It can easily feel like there's no time for this luxury.
How about right now - stop and reflect for just a moment.
Where have you stepped off the path you were on?
Hey there, judgy voice, quiet down. Bring in curiosity and compassion here. Just notice what has occurred lately with what you are working on in your life... did your attention get pulled elsewhere, and do you want to focus back on the same path?
Being conscious/aware can be painful, or at least mildly anxiety producing or irritating if you open up to seeing something within that you don't love. It is not usually a comfy feeling when we've let ourselves down, yet noticing allows you to shift into actions or ways of being that you want, and that persistence is empowering.
Here's what I'm continually working on - well into the 5th decade, so c'mon, YOU CAN TOO - -
Letting go of:
I can't believe I didn't ...
I should have...
And, living with eyes wide open. If I want to be or do (fill in the blank), persistence is required. And, the path is always there is return to.
So, did you pause long enough to see what you need to see?
Let's always, always remember, one tiny action is all that's needed to get back on the path. Please, whatever you do, keep engaging with a state of curiosity and compassion, not criticism, judgement, or the entirely impossible goal of perfection.