The 5 R's: Reflect, Reset, Realize, Refocus & Resume

"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." - John Quincy Adams

 

It's tough to stay focused and motivated. Last week I felt like I hit a wall. After several weeks of working hard to stay focused and motivated during all this pandemic craziness, last week I felt a bit derailed. As the week went on, I felt myself drifting back to mediocrity. Nothing specific happened to derail my motivation, I just started to feel drained. It happens to all of us. Once we lose that focus, we tend to let fear, uncertainty and doubt creep back in. Then it’s like a domino effect.

 

I had to stop myself and really take some time to Reflect, Reset, Realize, Refocus and then Resume. Reflect upon what I was feeling and why. What was I doing (or not doing) that was causing this lull? Like I said it wasn't just one thing, but one thing always leads to another, and so on. One thing that did happen, though, was that I stopped working out, which caused me to not feel as good about myself, which led to loss of motivation and energy, which made me feel lazy, which then led me to make decisions that fed into that laziness. See what I mean? I had to reset my thoughts, feelings and actions and realize that every day is a new day with fresh new opportunities to improve. Realize that I wasn’t where I wanted to be, and that’s ok. What was important was reminding myself that I have the power to choose what I am going to do about it.

 

I had to refocus on the things that would get me back to where I wanted to be and then resume taking actions on those things. I had to find some small wins to gain momentum. So, I kept posting positive messages, which was good. I started re-reading a favorite book for inspiration, which was good. I listened to a motivational speaker, which was good. And I started working out again, which was good. Every now and then we need to practice these 5 R’s, to get us back on track. It’s okay to start small to gain wins and build positive momentum. You just need to do something.

 

Remember, even if we’re on the right track we’ll get run over if we don’t move. We only fail when we stop trying. Don't give up and don't give in.

 

Where are you at? How are you feeling? Maybe you need to practice the 5 R’?

 

Start today. Make today great!

 

Curtis