What dream is sitting unfulfilled in your heart? What goals and resolutions have fallen by the wayside as the year has progressed? Our lives are filled with the mundane, the important, the urgent, the dreams and opportunities galore. It is so easy for the less important and the run of the mundane to overshadow the important and the goals that live within us. What gets us from the point of dreaming, wishing and talking to actually pursuing those important goals?

This is a question that I have asked myself repeatedly in recent years.

There were always excuses and reasons why another year had passed without the book I had been talking about not existing yet. The real reason? I was too scared – I was too scared to set aside the time and do the work needed. I was too scared that my words weren’t good enough – I was too scared that I would fail. Yes, there were practicalities of schedules and writing time and technical requirements that needed to be worked through. These were not true obstacles. My mindset needed to change.

Working on our mindset and the thought track that we allow to run is a continuous process. I have needed mentors speaking words of truth into my life, I have accessed and applied the learning from podcasts, books and training. I have journaled, cried, hit the dirt and picked myself back up again – I wish I could say I have this conquered. There is always another layer to uncover; another moment by moment choice to make.

Another helpful practice has been resetting my focus frequently.

Developing clear goals and plans and referring to them repeatedly keeps me pointing in the right direction. (Check out Melissa Shanhun’s Plan for 2020 and Amanda Viviers’ Pause and Reset workbooks for more help with this.) I am working towards making this a weekly habit. Yes, there are times when plans change, goals get tweaked or thrown out completely. It is not about locking in and being inflexible but about setting my mind on where I am aiming for.

I have found that keeping those goals clear and in front of me makes it easier to choose the stretch over comfort. We cannot grow without being uncomfortable and stretching past what we thought was possible. That pain and hard work won’t seem worth it unless our goal is worth it and we have the mindset that we can get there and are good enough.

Today marks the culmination of that work in my own life over the past three years. Today is the official release day for “Stepping Up In Leadership: Reflections from the journey”.

This article was originally published on Jo Keople’s Blog as What do we need to reach our goals?

Jo is the Managing Director of an organisation called MOPS Australia (Mother’s of Pre-schoolers) which is a volunteer-based organisation. MOPS has over 70 locations where mothers come together to meet and encourage one another. As well as being a Managing Director Jo is a leader, writer and mother.