Goal Setting and Retraining The Brain
January 31, 2022
Goal Setting and Retraining The Brain

Written By Stacey Inal  MA, MBA,
Licensed Marriage Family Therapist and Women’s Life Coach

With the start of the New Year, you may be thinking about all the goals you want to achieve. Perhaps you are thinking about starting an amazing new business, pursue a dream job, plan your international vacation, or start a creative side project. You may want to begin waking up early to exercise. Like most people right now, you are trying to find work life balance while incorporating more personal time that is meaningful and fun.

Are you asking yourself, “How do I even do this?”.  Does it begin to feel scary? When that happens, the brain goes into freeze or even flight mode. Then self-doubt kicks in and you begin to lose momentum. Your brilliant plans start to lose their energy.  You may retreat into old habits that aren’t serving you. You may begin to doubt your ability to change anything at all. You may even move into self-sabotage. Does any of this sound familiar?

You know you are smart and capable. Most likely you have people in your life saying just that! Then why is it so challenging?

One of the main reasons is because your nervous system is designed to protect you. When you feel scared or even anxious, your brain will tell you to run the other direction. Your brain is saying, “Danger Ahead”. You may end up feeling stuck, lose motivation, and go into protection mode. Your mind and even your body knows that is the safest choice.

When you look around you may see other people taking risks in business, love, and pursuing amazing goals. Why do they manage to do it when it is hard for you?  Perhaps they even have a lesser skillset, and you know you could do it better.

It comes down to one thing. They have trained themselves to think differently around new situations and opportunities. They have managed to cultivate the skillset and belief system to go for it.  We know that social media has figured out and capitalized on the negative thinking equation. That negative self-talk is most often our go to in unknown situations.

Flip that script! Rather than spending time counting the things you do not know, instead begin writing down what skills you have developed that will help you succeed.  Write down what the positive things people have said to you over the years. Remind yourself that you do have the power and you do hold the cards.

It sounds so easy, doesn’t it? If it was so easy, everyone would do it, right? I am here to say it is not an easy skill to acquire initially. It does take a lot of practice. You must make a very conscious effort and re-train the brain. The great news is that with time, you will begin thinking differently and in turn you will make it happen. You will grow more confident and be more creative. I bet you will unleash amazing things you never knew were within you. I can just about guarantee you will be happier because you will be doing what you want.

As a seasoned life coach, I teach my clients how to grow and foster their dreams. They learn how to change negative beliefs into positive ones. My system helps keep clients moving towards their goals.

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