Adopting the Right Mindset to Conquer the Chaos
We’ve made it through a full week of the new year. How are things working out for you?
I am finally motivated to achieve goals that I’ve had on my mind for a long time. While I’m still not in the groove of working like I want to, I can definitely see progress.
Last week I shared that I would be writing about topics that would help you conquer the chaos in 2019. As I’ve been brainstorming about those topics, I realized that maybe a little pep talk of encouragement would be in order before we start trying to change things in our lives.
If you’re anything like me, then you are probably excited to get going in 2019 and have lots of plans. But even now at just a week into the new year, the enthusiasm is starting to wear off. You have no idea how to achieve those plans or you wonder if they are even possible.
I think it’s important to understand that when we are trying to conquer the chaos in our lives and are searching for a way to escape the overwhelm that we adopt the right mindset.
And that mindset is…
Pursue progress, not perfection.
It is so easy for me to procrastinate tackling a new project because I’m afraid I won’t do it perfectly. Or when I make plans and can’t execute them perfectly I get discouraged.
Can you relate?
A prime example is this blog post. Last week I mentioned that my plan was to have this series of blog posts go live on Tuesdays. Unfortunately, I’m just now writing this post on Wednesday.
I really wanted to beat myself up over the fact that I didn’t get the post done when I said I would. Never mind the fact that I recorded and uploaded my weekly podcast on time instead of rushing around to the last minute to get it done. Never mind the fact that I have a lot going on at my outside the home job that is taking up a lot of my time this month.
You see if we focus on doing things perfectly or expecting perfect outcomes, we will always get discouraged. We will never make real progress toward conquering the chaos in our lives. We’ve got to focus on progress instead.
For me, this looks like following through completing simple routines I’ve set up on a consistent basis. And I do really mean simple. I consider the day a success if the kitchen is all cleaned up before I go to bed. No matter what else I do that day I will feel a sense of accomplishment if my kitchen is clean.
So as we embark on this journey to conquer the chaos I encourage you to determine what progress looks like for you. When your plans are not working out perfectly and you’re tempted to become discouraged, you can remember to celebrate progress instead.
To help you remember to pursue progress over perfection you can write the phrase in your planner. Or you can write it on a sticky note that you can put wherever you’ll see it the most.
This is our mantra as we conquer the chaos in 2019:
Pursue progress, not perfection.
What does pursuing progress over perfection look like for you?