The human brain has the ability to generate an endless supply of incredible and innovative thoughts, but it was not designed to do so all the time. To avoid obsessing on small problems or being unproductive, we need to balance our energy levels by shifting our focus away from one challenging task and onto another. But how do you accomplish this? How can you decide what's next while still leaving time for self-care?
This article will show you how to combine the power of goal-setting with mindfulness meditation and positive goal fulfillment in order to find balance, improve your productivity, and increase creativity.
The Premise
Your goal is to write a book in order to boost your Karma, but you have no idea how to begin. You have no concept of your topic and aren't even sure what a book is really supposed to be, but you're feeling exceptionally motivated. You start reading and researching, but you quickly become frustrated by the lack of information available on writing books and thinking about writing a book . Soon enough, the idea of writing a book becomes overwhelming. You start to see other people who have written books, but even their accomplishments and accomplishments seem too small to be impressive. You feel the anxiety increasing, so you remind yourself that the best path is not the one that leads you to accomplishing something amazing, but rather the path where you accomplish something spectacular. You start thinking about making a book a compelling topic, and so on.
Meta-Analytic Thinking
By differentiating between "soft" goals (like completing a book) and "hard" goals (like getting acknowledged or publishing), I noticed that people who have accomplished real-world goals often avoid setting specific hard-committed goals in order to avoid falling into an emotionless, predetermined routine.
I was able to relate problems like these to what's known as the "Imposter Syndrome." The "Imposter Syndrome" is a concept where people who have accomplished certain goals feel that their accomplishments are not truly representative of their ability. This can come from things like poor-self esteem and comparisons with others, but being unable to set a goal for yourself because you feel that your achievement is undeserved is also part of this issue.
The process behind setting effective goals involves combining both the power of mindfulness meditation (being completely in the moment) with meta-analytic thinking (setting goals that are measurable, examinable, and achievable). The first step is to realize that even when you can't see the finish line, you can still know where it is.
The First Step
The first thing you need to do is to decide whether or not your goal is achievable. If it's not, change the goal into something that is achievable. Asking yourself if your goal really has a chance of succeeding will help your brain focus on the positive parts of the task and prevent you from getting distracted by comparative thoughts such as "I don't have enough time" and "This topic doesn't matter." Even if your original goal doesn't get changed, make sure to commit yourself to finishing it in a timely manner instead of allowing it to drag on.
It's also important to set clear goals that are measurable, examinable, and achievable in order to make progress. The specific goals that make the most difference will be different for every person, but you can use some general guidelines below to help you.
In order to get started, I recommend listing out your goals on a piece of paper the night before or first thing in the morning, and then going through the list one by one. If something on your list feels out of reach or is not realistic (such as "write a book every night"), give yourself permission to either break up that single task into smaller parts, or completely remove it from the list all together.