So. You have an actual goal with a deadline. (Need help setting one? Here is last week's article: The Ultimate Goal Setting Guide PART 1: True Goal Setting)
Suddenly, you experience a sinking feeling and start thinking “How the heck am I going to do this???” Don’t freak out! Getting specific can be scary. It is natural to have self-doubt. Take back control by hitting pause. You are about to learn a super simple trick that will help you overcome that self-doubt.When I first sat down and made the goal to “empower 100,000 children to believe in themselves by May 7, 2014” I was terrified. I had no idea of how to do it, and, to be honest, I didn’t really think I could do it. How did I overcome that self-doubt?
I told some trusted friends about my goal.
You might think that this is too simple to work, but trust me, it works. After I shared my goal, I noticed something; they didn’t laugh! In fact, they were supportive and wanted to know how they could help me. It’s funny, the idea of sharing your goal can be scary. You expect people to have the same reaction as you do, but they don’t! It is a serious confidence booster when you see that other people believe you can do it. You start to think that maybe you can do it, too.
This is SUPER important.
In order for you to really give your goal a shot, you need to believe that it is possible.
Not only is it a major confidence booster, but it adds some accountability. It’s easier to give up on a goal when you are the only one who knows about it, versus the prospect of admitting failure to someone else. It shouldn’t be this way! We should be more concerned about letting ourselves down than anyone else, but for most of us, it’s the reality. You might as well use that to your advantage. Take the plunge and share your goal!
How do you choose WHO to share your goals with?
There are some qualifiers for who you share your goals with. I definitely do notrecommend a facebook broadcast for this. (The power behind the social media share comes later, haha). The whole point of sharing your goals is to overcome self-doubt and get some support, so opening it up to just anyone is not a good idea.
It’s pretty straightforward: share your goal with people who are going to support you. Positive people. People you trust. If you have a friend or family member who has a track record of poo-poo-ing your ideas, or is constantly seeing the bad, they are not the best fit for this. Picture that person who might say something like "I'm not negative, I'm just a realist." Choose someone who encourages you and sees your potential. It should also be someone whose opinion you have a measure of respect for.
Now you know the first step to overcoming the initial shock of putting a deadline on your goal. Next week we will take it even further. We will talk about the surefire method of laying that fear to rest.
Challenge Yourself
- Set a summer goal.
- Share the goal with a trusted friend
- Email me your goal
- Share how you have overcome a fear
I would love to hear about your summer goal and how you overcome fears!
Contact me HERE.