It can be easy to slip into self-doubt when planning for the future.
Sometimes the dream seems too big, too impossible to achieve. Maybe you failed once before and your confidence in your ability to reach your goals was shaken.
Over the years, I have unearthed a powerful secret to overcoming the self-doubt that was keeping me from achieving my life goals.
What I discovered was this: live in the present while dreaming—or planning—for the future.
Staying present is vital because it keeps life in perspective and gives you motivation as you work toward your bigger dreams.
How do we live in the moment? I tell my coaching clients to, “Bloom where you’re planted while continuing to work toward the future.” By doing this, you can enjoy the now AND keep moving toward your short-term and long-term goals—where you want to be.
As I worked toward my goals over the years, I developed four disciplines that kept me grounded and helped me overcome any self-doubt that was keeping me from achieving my dreams.
These four disciplines keep me focused on the present while I move toward the future.
If you implement these disciplines in your life, you will experience a measurable difference in your confidence and progress toward your goals. They help you in creating a greater enjoyment of the present in your career, personal development, and relationships while preparing you to realize your dreams.
These four disciplines are:
- Excellence
- Skill Development
- Forward Movement
- Celebration
Let’s break these down.
1. Excellence
You must be excellent in everything you do NOW. Do not wait to step into your dream to give it your best.
Dreams are big, and they are exciting. There is anticipation, almost an impatience, to bring them forward. We tend to focus on where we want to be, not where we are now. Our lives are filled with instant access. Smart phones, internet, and ATMs create an expectation of immediacy in what we are dreaming.
When our expectations do not happen fast enough, we tend to get bored and can become uninterested in what we are doing. Our output becomes mediocre, which gives mediocre results. Self-doubt can creep in when we do not see the results we want, but excellence can go a long way to restore confidence and set us up for success.
We have all had jobs that we did not want to be at, or a terrible boss. We could not wait until we were out of there! But what we need to learn is that it is not about the job or the boss. It is about us!
Every opportunity in life is an opportunity to learn. They are our training ground for the future!
Everywhere you work …
Every class you take …
Every seminar you attend …
Is an opportunity to train in excellence.
It takes discipline to keep excellence going even when you are not feeling it. It takes discipline to not just be good, but to be the best at what you are doing.
Let me tell you about a friend of mine. After many years of having a good job—but not her dream job—she reached the point where she could quit. She had planned and realized it was the right time to step into the next phase of her dream.
But she also made up her mind that until the day she gave notice and walked out the door, she would do everything with excellence. Then when she made this decision but had not given her notice yet, they asked her to apply for two promotions!
This is the way of excellence: where you are so good in every place you work, go to school, or train, that they do not want you to leave.
You bring excellence and add value to the organization when you work with excellence.
It takes discipline to be excellent where you are now! You can decide today that you will overcome self-doubt and reach for your dreams by choosing the path of excellence.
2. Skill Development
Practice the skills you will need for the future in your current environment.
We must practice getting where we need to go. Athletes practice all the time. The best ones will say, “I practiced every chance I got.” Musicians say, “I played for hours, and hours, and hours.”
Practice allows your dream to be realized. To achieve our life goals, you must learn how to integrate practice for the future into your everyday life.
I always dreamed about writing, but I knew I needed to practice this skill. So I made a New Year’s resolution to start writing a weekly blog.
I had not really written before, so I started small, writing one blog per week. It was published on my website and in our church bulletin. I operated a family business, so I wrote in my spare time.
Would I have rather been home writing, publishing, and doing all those great things? Yes, but that was not an option, so I practiced at work in everything I did.
With grammar not being my strong suit, I had my friend who was excellent in this skill edit my blogs. With each edit, I put into practice what I had learned with my customers and in my correspondence.
A few years later I took a writing course that included a section on grammar and working on that skill went a long way in helping me overcome doubt that I could be a good writer.
Grammar is still not my strong suit, but I am getting better and continually practice in everything I do, from emails to letters.
As you practice your skills, wherever you are, you will see what you need to improve. There is so much free training available now.
Go! Practice! Achieve! Excel!
3. Forward Movement
It is so important to keep moving forward.
Sometimes we feel paralyzed because we are not working in the environment we want to work in, or we feel stuck. We do not know how to get to where we are dreaming.
Self-doubt will tell you that you cannot learn or do not have what it takes to reach that goal. But self-doubt is a liar.
During these times of doubt and frustration, the only way you will move forward is to take one step at a time. This may mean taking a job, enrolling in a class, or joining a focus group.
You will find that when you take the first step to move forward, other opportunities will present themselves.
Take a risk! By experimenting, you can find the right momentum to move you forward.
John Maxwell wrote a book called Failing Forward. He says that failure is an opportunity to move forward because we learn from failure.
If you do not let failure defeat you, the failure can motivate you to go forward. It is okay to make mistakes. As you go, you will improve!
4. Celebration
Celebrate success as you go!
This is so important. So many times, we forget to celebrate the little victories.
Do not forget to celebrate the little things—this is staying present while acknowledging that you are working toward a bigger future.
Celebrate all the things going on in your life, from quality time with a good friend, going for a walk, or spending the day with your kids.
Celebrate the people you do life with—celebrate your tribe.
Celebrate your job. Whether you love it or not, celebrate it.
Celebrate the class you are trying to finish so you can take that next step.
Celebrate everything in your life. You can see possibilities for the future because you have celebrated the present.
Do not let self-doubt stop you! Your dreams are worth it.
So let’s get busy with these four disciplines.
1. Excellence: Ask yourself what area of your life needs to move from mediocre to excellent.
2. Skill Development: Practice the skills you need to be excellent in your area.
3. Forward Movement: Plan for adding excellence to this area.
4. Celebration: Celebrate as you go.
To have success tomorrow, bloom where you are planted today.
Comment below how you plan to overcome self-doubt, stay present, and reach for your goals using these four disciplines. Let’s encourage each other!
If you want to find your passion AND the why behind it, sign up for my 6-week online course, Compelled to Change.
In this class, I join forces with you on your journey to identify your why and find your passion. You will learn practical and repeatable strategies to accomplish your dreams and be unstoppable!
Hurry! The course starts April 19. Learn more here.
I cannot wait to get started!
Abundant Blessings, Cindy
Cindy Stewart has a passion for people and helping them connect to their life purpose, discover their passions, and live their dreams. Cindy’s latest book, God’s Dream for Your Life, brings clarity to your purpose while unlocking vision of what is possible in the natural and the supernatural. She is an itinerant speaker, an executive coach, and hosts a weekly podcast on Charisma Podcast Network. Along with her husband, Chuck, they lead The Gathering Apostolic Center in Tarpon Springs, FL.
Please email Cindy with any questions or comments to cindystewartauthor@gmail.com. She’d love to hear from you.
Remember, you are the best investment you can make.