My coach recently recommended that I read the book Be Your Future Self Now by Dr. Benjamin Hardy. If you have not read that book, order it now! I dried up a highlighter in the first half of the book! No joke! Guys! When I say it hit me square between the eyes this week, I am not kidding! In one of the steps, Dr. Hardy talks about eliminating lesser goals. This is the chapter that got me, and now I know one of the reasons my coach told me to read this book! It has got me doing some major reflection this week.
Listen to this statement from the book: “Anything that isn’t taking you toward your future self is a lesser goal.” I have had to admit this week that my actions are not aligning with what I say I want. My actions do not align with my goals of my future self.
You might wonder exactly what this means. Think about this. One of my goals over the past year has been to lose the 50 pounds I gained after Covid. I have been taking steps to lose weight and have lost 23 pounds, but I have used the excuse of my travel schedule to justify not working out while on the road. I have used the excuse of stress when I want to eat something that isn’t healthy or moving me toward my weight loss goals. So, have I been truly committed to the weight loss enough to uncommit from these bad habits and get healthy? I have had to question my commitment. Do I really want what I say I want for my future self? Is my commitment really to be healthy as I start this new season in my 50s?
Let me give you another example. Another goal of mine is to be financially free, meaning no debt. We have been crushing this goal for several months. How? We weren’t buying things we didn’t need! But then, we started buying anything we wanted, such as a new chair, treadmill, clothes, trips, fishing equipment, etc. I realized my commitment has been to impulsively buy things I wanted in the moment, not toward my future self of being financially free.
Are you getting the picture? I had the realization that I have been saying yes to things that are taking me away from my goals, not toward them. Maybe for you, it’s too much time on social media instead of working on something that will push you closer to your future self. Maybe it’s people who are not making you better but dragging you down. Maybe it’s a business you are trying to start, but you are allowing things to distract you from doing the work you need to do. Maybe it’s getting that degree or certification, but all you can see is the 9-5 job right now, and you think there’s no time.
I don’t know what it is for you, but maybe you can relate to what I’m sharing here, and this will be your wake-up call to evaluate what you want and what is stopping you. I hope this will be your wake-up call to admit that you are allowing lesser goals to take precedence. Maybe, like me, you need to get better at saying no to things! If you have read Valorie Burton’s book entitled It’s About Time, you read about the urgent versus the meaningful, and that is what I am trying to avoid being stuck in. I want to spend my time doing the meaningful things that bring me joy, that serve my purpose, and lead me toward my future self, not away. I don’t want to be the statistic that says that the most untapped potential lies in a graveyard.
Let me challenge you in closing to evaluate your time. Are you letting commitment to lesser goals keep you from living what you want and deserve? If so, be strong, be disciplined, and be focused on activities that will move you toward who you want to be, and what you want to accomplish!
With love for you all,
Shauna
Shauna's Sisters 