The optimistic side that we all have makes us wonder what we are capable of. Those big ideas that we have of where we envision ourselves gives us that belief that we can achieve greatness. With that newfound energy we can become engulfed in this wave of momentum to take action towards what we're optimistic about. Getting to this point is a special place to be in because it fuels you for something better.
What gets in the way of really going after these great things that we think about is a simple question. Can I do it? Am I capable of achieving these big ambitious dreams? We all tend to look at ourselves at our current state. Where we evaluate what skills we have and what skills we don't and those areas of strengths and weaknesses. The greater your skills and strengths are the more confidence you have in going after what you want.
But what if you're lacking in those areas? is the next step as simple as I can't do it, or I'll move on to something else that's easier. If it's something you truly want, then go for it. The areas that you are not strong in should not deter you. To overcome this thinking, shift from asking yourself can I do it, to how can I do it. This helps you go from viewing yourself as is to what you could be.
Evaluate what is needed to achieve what you want
Start by identifying the skills and information needed to reach your destination. Our dreams can make us intoxicated where we envision the result. That is what motivates us. The next step to making it a reality is know what it takes to make it happen, or at least have an idea. This helps you know what specifically to do so you can make progress. If you want to build your own house but have never done it, then find out what information, materials and amount of money is needed to do it.
From there you can evaluate yourself currently where your skillset and strengths are compared to what is needed to make it happen. You might find that you are strong at putting things together but not so strong on the budgeting side of it. This gives you a starting point of where you stand currently in comparison to where you need to be to make it happen. Those areas that you are not so strong in or weak in, remember that they are fluid states you can work on them to get better.
Close the gaps from where you are to where you need to be
Once you know those areas that need improvement in, find out how you can do it. The simple mantra of work hard is not enough. You must work effectively to get better at it. Shooting a basketball will not improve your accuracy alone if the technique and mechanics are poor. That is just ingraining overall bad practice. It takes understanding how exactly to shoot accurately to become a more accurate shooter. From there the more you do it, the better you will become.
Knowing the specifics of how to get better will close the gap from where you are to where you need to be. You have a greater chance of improving and sometimes the progress made can be relatively quick where your confidence grows with it. Sometimes people will lose belief in themselves because enough progress or no progress has been made because of ineffective ways of getting better. If a specific way of doing something has not yet worked, try something else that does.
Consistently work to get better
Once you figure out what to do and how to do it, consistently work to get better. Just like anything that we have, the skills that we develop must be maintained and they must be improved on if not there's a tendency for them to become a little weak. The beginning stages is going to be crucial so you can carry that belief that you can. Inconsistency is a big detractor for making significant progress. You got to do it even when you don't feel like it. And once you do it enough it just becomes a habit.
Even after you've closed those gaps from where you are to where you need to be and you achieve what you want, continuously get better. This can be related to what you're already working on or something completely different. This keeps you in that growth mode continuously making progress bettering yourself. The more that you do this the more your confidence grows where you know that you can achieve so much more greater things. The journey is where we find much of our satisfaction and not just the destination.
Final thoughts
Simply shifting your thinking from asking yourself can I do this to how can I do this helps you to not be limited by where you're currently at. It primes the mind to know it can be done, it's just about figuring out what needs to be done and how to do it effectively. This can be the hard part at times trying different things, and possibly not getting the results you wanted. With enough commitment to finding what works for you, you’ll experience that you can get better, and develop yourself into so much more. Break free from what can’t be done and focus on what can be done.
Comments