This is the second most important step. It’s important because without it we would just be jumping into something blindly, like a sheep following the flock, jumping onto each and every bandwagon because of the results it boasts.
To avoid this and to begin making decisions that fit well into your unique life…we first have to take a deep look into your life. I want you to look into your day to day experiences and identify your strengths, weaknesses, barriers, and pitfalls.
And I’m not sitting here telling you to think about it for 5 minutes and say…”ok I’m good!”…I’m saying set aside SOME REAL TIME. Sit down in a place with minimal distractions, grab a pen and dive into the following questions:
- What am I doing really really well? This could be anything. It could be you are an excellent parent, you are kicking butt at staying organized, you’re a top notch planner, you go with the flow like the Nile River, you have great self talk skills, you are getting adequate rest. List. Them. All. no matter how big or small – (It is so easy to pick ourselves apart that I want you to spend double the amount of time here. List it all out, and pat yourself on the back.
- What behaviors could I improve? This can be decreasing time watching Netflix, cooking more nutritious dinners, unfollowing accounts on Instagram that make us feel poorly about ourselves, does my time management suck? Staring at this list can sometimes be overwhelming. Don’t fret, it’s not going to disappear overnight but now that you’ve identified them, this can be your list of goals that you are going to utilize this blueprint to improve!
- What are the current pain points causing me to drag my feet and not get started changing those behaviors for the better? – Maybe insecurity, mental barriers, not enough information to get started, fear.
- The last time I tried to change that behavior, how did it go? & Why? (List these out for each of the above behaviors) Why did it fall apart if it did? Why was it successful if it was?
YOU DID IT! You just completed a self reflection and researched your own experience. Now we can take that research and utilize it to overcome those barriers you just identified!
