Mindfulness, Good Habits and Goals

When trying to create lasting change and 
good habits, keep your goals ever present.
It's this, like the north star, that leads in
the direction of our dreams....

How do we make good habits stick, especially when it’s a habit that doesn’t come so naturally?  We could tie a string around our finger or write sticky notes to ourselves and post them on the bathroom mirror or we can become heartfully aware ……

Awareness is a valuable tool when working towards goals because with awareness comes truth and clarity.  With clarity we can better choose behaviors and habits that benefit our goals and create lasting change.  Two tools that can help us to define and become clear about the changes we desire are meditation and journaling. 

Meditation creates a space while quieting the mind and body in order to hear the voice within. Given the opportunity, our inner voice can be heard pretty clearly and directly.  It may speak straight to our hearts, guiding us with its love, compassion and inner wisdom, aligning us with our goals, purpose and path.

Journaling is another great tool in order to become more aware of what we need.  It also creates a space for that inner voice to be heard more clearly and distinctly….

I encourage the practice of at least one of these tools.  See what happens even after just a short while…When you actually create that space of sitting in the present moment or putting pen to paper, something begins to happen.   An opening is created.  The energy flows, changes and forward momentum is given its opportunity. 

Once we've discovered what we truly want, we can begin to make changes.  Never underestimate the ability of small changes.  They are the first steps towards an empowered life.  Choosing just a couple of habits at a time to work on keeps things simple.  This is especially important during busy or challenging times.  It allows us to be more mindful of the changes we want and focus more closely on the good habits that support the goals we desire. 

Being mindful of our goals puts us on the path towards success. Actually visualizing what they look like and feel like is a great way to get motivated and excited.  Keep your goals close to your heart too…The heart, like our intuition and inner voice, wants what’s best for us while aligning us with our path.   

I read recently that each step we take during the day has an accumulative effect on our well being, whether it’s exercising or just our daily rounds, each step adds up.    This is the way with our habits too, they have the power to change our lives one step at a time….It’s the way of the tortoise that ultimately leads to the life we want to live.  While making choices we can ask ourselves “does this bring me closer or further away from my goal?”  It takes grit and perseverance, failing and beginning again.….The present , they say, is a gift and the universe is always giving us this moment to begin again.