Melanie Shmois

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A Look Back on the Blog Post that Started it All!

Over the past couple of months, as we prepared to end 2019 and enter 2020, we've talked a lot on the blog and on social media about doing reviews. This could mean anything from looking back at the previous year in preparation for the year ahead to scheduling time on a weekly or daily basis to review your goals.

Getting into the practice of completing regular reviews can be a total gamechanger for the successful completion of your goals, but it can be hard to prioritize the time it takes to complete them. Sometimes we may even subconsciously avoid them because we're nervous about what we might learn or realize during them.

By now, you've probably heard me talk about how important it is to me that I actively use the coaching tools I recommend to my clients, so it should come as no surprise that I've been completing reviews of my own lately. During a recent review of my progress over the past several years, I had an incredible realization that I'm so excited to share with you in this post!

Have you ever had a looming task or activity that you know you had to cross off your to-do list, but just couldn't find the energy or motivation to get excited about doing it?

I'll give you an example: As much as I love writing and sharing a weekly blog post full of transformative mindset tips and resources, I can admit that writing a weekly blog post is a task that sometimes feels like something I have to do rather than something I want to do.

But this wasn't always the case!

It wasn't until I was recently completing a review of my own when I decided to take a look back at the blog topics I've written over the past 4 years and I came across Mind Your Strength's first blog post EVER which helped me realized 2 important things:

  • The memory of how excited I was to press 'Publish' for that first blog post! I was still in the earlier stages of my business, this was a brand new feature on my website, and I could not wait to get the ball rolling on sharing mindset shifts and personal yet impactful stories with my readers.

  • How far my blog has come from day 1 to today!

Looking back through previous posts was a really fun trip down memory lane and also helped me remember this:

I don't have to put a blog post out weekly, I want to put a blog post out weekly!

Maybe you're having a hard time finding the motivation to hit the gym. Think back to the day you finalized your gym membership or signed up for that workout class. You were likely brimming with excitement as you took that important step towards your overall health or fitness goals! Remember how good it felt to take action towards a goal while doing something for yourself in the process.

Zoom out and remember how excited you used to feel about the task at hand, and what it's contributing to your long-term goals!

When you are faced with a task that you're not super excited about completing, take a few minutes to do a mini-review and zoom out on the bigger picture. Is this a task that you would have been excited about completing at some point previously? This is a great opportunity to remember why you once loved it, what it's contributing to your long-term goals, or why it's important.

In last week's post, we talked about building a relationship with your goal and nurturing it the same way you would a relationship with your partner. If you've ever been upset or annoyed by your spouse or partner - (we've all been there!) - it can be helpful to think about all the things you love about that person, or reflect on the better times in your relationship.

The same concept applies here. Not only will zooming out during a quick review help you strengthen your relationship with your goal, but it also serves as a fantastic reminder of where you started, how far you've come, and how much you've improved.

Next time you find yourself unexcited about a task, take a few minutes to practice this. You'll feel re-energized while reigniting the excitement you once had for a task that now feels like an annoyance, and it will re-align your mindset to focus on the importance of how an individual task contributes to your big picture goals and objectives!

Read Mind Your Strength's first blog post here!

Mind Your Strength,

Melanie Shmois