How to pursue ambitious goals without burning out: 5 sustainable strategies
Something that I have struggled with over the years is knowing how to balance the pursuit of my goals, whilst also making sure I am taking good care of myself.
Because when I have got it wrong in the past I have ended up experiencing burn out.
And that’s because I have completely abandoned myself whilst I set my sights on pursuing my goals: I have sacrificed my sleep, stopped taking breaks at work, cancelled plans with friends, sustained myself on sugar rather than nutritious meals, and put all the things I do for fun on the back burner.
And this is a common occurrence that I see in my clients all the time. When they are working towards a goal that matters to them, they feel they have to give everything to it, and their physical and mental wellbeing suffers.
The problem with the all or nothing approach…
This all or nothing approach to making progress can feel overwhelming. The thought of committing so much to achieve your goals can feel like you have a mountain to climb to get to where you want to get to. This leads to a paralysis that often gets blamed on being too lazy or not motivated enough to achieve your goals.
And if you do manage to overcome that feeling of overwhelm, and start working intensely towards your goals for a few days or weeks, it is simply not possible to keep that going for a longer period. Ultimately it can leave you feeling totally exhausted and like you have nothing left in the tank.
Neither of these are fun situations to be in!
But it doesn’t have to be that way. There is a way to still be ambitious and work towards your goals and dreams, without abandoning your needs as a human being.
And this is a much better strategy for longer-term success and it means that you get to enjoy the journey as you go!
So here are my top 5 strategies to make sure you can keep working towards your ambitious goals without neglecting yourself.
Your 5 strategies…
Work out your capacity first
Have a look at your average week and work out how much time you have left after all your commitments and chores (like work, parenting, food shop etc) and the things you need to do to feel your best (like sleep, exercise, socialising, hobbies). This might only leave you with one or two hours a week and that is ok!
Chunk up your goal
Next, break your goal down into small steps. There is no such thing as too small a step, in fact I would recommend breaking them down into as small of a step as possible. For example, researching and signing up to an event, buying a book on a subject you want to learn more about, clearing a space at the table for your crafts. These all count as steps!
Once you have them, plot them into the capacity you have available over the next few weeks. This will give you a really good idea of what is realistic to achieve in a week, alongside your other commitments and making time to do the things that make you feel your best.
Regularly check-in
Make it a daily or weekly habit to check in on your wellbeing and ask yourself what your mind and body needs. And then listen to it! It’s ok to honour your need for rest on low-energy weeks (especially those of us who have a menstrual cycle as this evolves day-to-day and week-to-week).
If I feel like I ‘should’ power through, but really I’d just love to take some time for myself, then I always ask myself what my best friend would tell me to do (and normally the answer is to give myself the time I am craving!). There will always be days where you have less energy and days where you have more, so checking in on what your reality is that day will make your pursuit of your goals so much more sustainable.
Be flexible and adapt when you need to
Which brings me onto my next strategy which is to give yourself permission to be flexible and adapt when you need to. If you’re having a low energy week then take the pressure off yourself to make the progress you said you would. If work is busier, or you’re looking after a sick family member, then your capacity is lower than you first assumed it would be. And that’s ok. Reshuffle your plan and reduce the expectations on yourself. It doesn’t mean you’re not still making progress, it just means you’re setting yourself up for sustainable success.
Regularly celebrate your progress
There’s a reason it’s so satisfying ticking something off your to do list. Because we love feeling like we are making progress! And when you tick something off, you feel more motivated to take the next action, which builds the gentle momentum we are after. So regularly see how far you have come and all the small steps you’ve completed, and celebrate that. It will help you to see the value in the actions you are taking and that they are adding up to some pretty significant progress!
Faster progress does not mean better progress…
We often assume that faster progress is better progress. But if moving quickly causes you to quit after three weeks, is it really better?
Intense and urgent work on your goals isn’t sustainable or joyful, and you end up throwing the towel in before getting to where you want to get to (either because you lose motivation or your body forces you to stop).
Instead, taking it at a slower pace means you build that gentle momentum and keep chipping away at your goals over a much longer period of time. And I promise you that these small steps keep adding up and you can end up making far more meaningful and enjoyable progress than if you were to try and rush it to the detriment of your wellbeing.
And success feels very different when you don’t have to sacrifice yourself to achieve it!
If this is something that you would like some support with, then why not book in for a chat with me here. It would be great to explore this further together.
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