Staying Focused on Goals
Hello Moonbeams,
Goal focus has been on my mind a lot recently. When I allow myself to drift along, taking things as they come, I end up making far fewer strides in life. I seriously admire those that can progress without any kind of plan or system!
Many of us might feel we are on track, as long as we remember our one big main goal. Whether that be achieving a new skill, making a career out of what we love, or something else just as big. But those goals are so vast that, for many it can become overwhelming and even discouraging to see them looming without any further plans to lean into, and it can lead to trying to do everything at once. We can also get into survival mode when we start struggling and just do whatever comes to mind first to keep things going!
In the business plan template I created for us a while back, I added a page for myself where I listed out all my 2021 plans, and a few things I needed to do before the end of the year.
For me, when I am actually thinking with my brain and not my anxiety, taking a look at everything I want, and everything I am doing to achieve that, can really help me redirect on what matters in the big picture and what is okay to put on hold. There is so much pressure to do EVERYTHING and we have to learn to be okay with putting some things aside, and realize that doing so can sometimes actually help us achieve better results that move us forward, rather than the haphazard results that might barely hold us in place or move us backward when we try to do it all
Now comes the tough part. Deciding how to actually weigh the importance of certain things, and figuring out what you can set aside. Setting things aside does not mean giving up on them, but rather, focusing on those that are most beneficial at the moment, or for future growth. Deciding what is most important is kind of a personal thing.
I often have to weigh the pros and cons of what I am working on. For instance, if I were to take a break from taking on client work to focus on personal work, I might risk losing some income. However, it is probably the personal work that will benefit my career in the long run, the very most. So I have to see if I can handle a temporary income loss to seed that future growth. Other times, I might have to put personal work on hold to focus on a project that provides more immediate income (bills have to be paid after all). I have a small circle I sometimes seek advice from if I’m truly having a hard time weighing the pros and cons. There are tons of art groups on Discord, Facebook, and Reddit where you can get to know fellow creators if you don’t already have people in your life to bounce ideas off.
One of the biggest goals I had the last few months was to revamp some back end stuff with my business, including the release of some new, limited prints that would include some specially designed stamps.
Since grounding myself more, and putting some things aside, I am feeling far more optimistic, and feel I am making more progress than when I was desperately scrambling from thing to thing with no direction. I hope these tips help you if you are feeling overwhelmed in life! Even if 2021 does not end up getting better right away, I think we can meet it head-on with new strength and less overwhelm!
