Hey everyone, it's Monday. So, I just want to give a little Motivational Monday message. Have you ever had a time where you were looking forward to something, you had a plan, a goal you're ready to execute, and then things just didn't work out? It can be deflating. That happened to me last weekend.
On Friday, I had packed all my clothes, food, books, and different things I needed because I was going to stay at a friend's cabin for a couple of days. I had hopes of finishing up, or at least coming close to finishing up, the raw manuscript of the upcoming book I'm in the process of writing. That is, until bad weather hit North Texas. I know those of you from back east or other snowy locations think we don't know how to drive in wintry weather, that’s fair, and true! I grew up driving in quite a bit of this stuff so despite it being icy out, I thought I'd just drive safe so I jumped in the car and was on my way! I got about 15 minutes away and I noticed the car was not handling the ice and snow the way I'd like so I pulled over to get some gas. I checked the tread on the tires and discovered that the vehicle had thin tread in the front and it wasn't safe to proceed. I had borrowed by son's car that only had 9,000 miles. "How could the tires be worn out already?", I thought. For the record, my opinion of living a big, bold, brave life does not include making unwise decisions, especially when it’s totally unnecessary to take a risk. I knew I couldn’t proceed. I sat thinking for a few minutes if I had any other options, but none were good. This was something I was going to have to just be okay with, and I canceled my trip.
Has a situation like this ever rocked your boat? You know, where you feel like your whole weekend's been ruined, now what are you going to do? The goals you were ready to crush are now unattainable. I'll admit I was a little bit bummed at first, but I got back home and recognized there were a few things I could do right away and still be productive. So, I started shoveling the snow and ice out of my driveway and doing things that needed my attention, including spending over an hour at the tire shop getting new tires on the front of my son’s car! Even though my time set aside for writing had been completely shot, I was encouraged and lifted out of my state of bummedness. I just did other stuff. I did other stuff to be productive rather than just sitting on the couch watching Netflix and whining that I could not do what I really wanted to do.
On Saturday, I decided to take the same two hours I normally set aside during the week for writing and got caught up with my minimum writing goals. After that we had some family time since we couldn't really do too much as far as getting out with the travel conditions. Unfortunately, sometimes when our plans get rocked, we freeze up (no pun intended) and choose not to do anything or be so bummed out that it affects our ability to do anything else productive. I want to encourage you today, if something doesn't go your way, don't let that ruin your day! If it was a goal you missed, don't let that ruin your momentum. There's always something we can be productive in doing. I just shifted gears, changed what I was working on and was able to have a very productive (and fun) weekend. I had some time to relax as well! When things don't go your way and your goals are temporarily shut down, whether it's activity for your business or whatever you're trying to get accomplished, you can shift gears too! It might be your inner voice saying, “Hey, I have a window of opportunity here. I can take this time to chill out because what I was going to do before just isn't possible to me." It might be a cue for you to take some time to care for your mental and emotional health. Relax, get rested, maybe have a nice meal, get a workout in, do something fun with your spouse, family, or friends. I want to encourage you today you don't have to be shut down by your goal-boat getting rocked. You can rest, have fun, and then get back to it.
Today is Monday. I got back to my regular routine and crushed my writing goal for the day. I am working on some other things including creating some content. I've got a great start to the week. I don’t feel guilty or disappointed that the weekend was a loss, or my goal boat was sunk. The weekend was great, just different than I initially planned.
I hope you learn to do the same. I hope you don't let setbacks, set you back. DO NOT let a setback set you back, let a setback help you shift your strategy in the moment to something else that you could enjoy or be productive with. I understand, this might be a tough pattern to break for some. If you need a coach, I'm here for you. Send me a message, I'd love to have a conversation with you. I do a free 30-minute consultation so we can see if we're a good fit. Live BBB!
Clint Hatton