Anita encourages you to challenge yourself
Have you ever wanted to start something or wanted to achieve a bigger goal only to have never got round to doing it?
There are many reasons why we may put something off – often it’s because we have a fear of failure. However, if we never try something new, we never give ourselves the opportunity to find out our potential.
Challenging yourself can not only improve self-esteem but also over time, change your perception of yourself and what you are capable of.
Start by ensuring that you set the target small to begin with; it’s important to make it an attainable goal.
Small goals over time, become a reliable habit which then makes it easier to raise the bar to a higher level. Try not to compare yourself to others, choose the things that are important to you personally. If you compare yourself to others, you are looking outward. Instead try looking inside and put yourself and your needs first.
Everybody will find different things challenging; it may be that you’ll commit to getting out of bed for a certain time every day or perhaps try completing a DIY task that’s needed doing for some time.
With consistency you might find you can increase the milestone to something which takes more time, for instance to train every week and eventually run a marathon.
Very few people that start something new or different can do it right straight away. Perseverance and determination are what enable us to eventually achieve. Remember failure can lead to success if you keep trying.
Setting and achieving goals increases our dopamine levels. Dopamine is the reward chemical which our brain releases when we have set a goal. Dopamine makes us feel good and gives us a feeling of motivation and pleasure.
Things that could help to achieve your goal
- Emotionally investing in the goal – think about it and what it will mean to you to complete it.
- Think about why it is important to you and why you chose it.
Visualise – imagine completing the goal. How will you feel? What difference will it make? What could it lead on to?
