We are romantic in what we dream about, what we will accomplish, and/or what changes need to be made. Our energy goes up, our stories become bigger, and we enjoy when others compliment us on our declared goals.
The problem is that the steps to impactful change in our lives hide from others and never accomplish a lot by themselves. Change requires the repetition of little steps over a long period of time. Much like the ladders in the picture. With many attempts started yet few break through.
What’s boring about this work of change is that we have to keep coming back to do the same thing over and over in order to show progress. It’s the same for personal goals of weight loss as it is for expanding our number of followers on the internet by putting out content and tweets every day until someone notices. Then sometimes things don’t work out as planned and we need to change our focus.
Our aspirations to change are in direct conflict with the steps we must complete to bring about change. Romance is the mistress of our aspirations. Everything is beautiful at the beginning. It’s the boring steps needed to bring about the change we wish necessary to see things through to completion.
This is why change is so difficult. The work is truly boring because it needs to be repetitive in order for it to take hold. Progress occurs in a hundred small steps. Never with one. Given our short attention span, we usually miss the mark because we are never patient enough to persevere when all we see and feel is the same as when we do our laundry.
Be mindful as you state your next goal. It will be more of a journey than an event. For the many steps in our lives proves just how elusive realizing something new can be.