Tough Love Tuesday: Treat Your Goals Like It's Your Job

I want to dare people to treat their goals like it's their job. I'm speaking from experience here, so I'm calling myself out just as much as I'm calling you out. We all have goals and big dreams for our lives but what are the steps you're taking to get there? It's easy to tell yourself that you'll get to it tomorrow or it's something you don't need to attempt at the moment, but what if I said that your job depended on it.

Unless for some reason millions of dollars showed up in your bank account, and you don't need to work for a living then you're going to have to put in the effort to keep your job. You can't show late, you can't slack off, and you have to do excellent work to get a promotion. The same thing goes for your goals – if you don't show up and put in the work to get to the future that you want, it's never going to happen. Even if your goals aren't career-related, you have that goal for a reason. There's something about it that really excites you so why aren't you putting all your energy towards it?

Here are two personal goals I have for myself that I have slacked on. I've wanted to learn Welsh for a while now. I used Duolingo and then I just stoppd doing it one day. I also want to get my certification training in an online course for EFT Tapping and NLP. Now, here are two goals that I am good at keeping up with. I've been journaling every morning and I also make sure to go to yoga regularly. So, what's the difference between these two sets of goals? How come I've been able to keep up with some and not the other?

The answer is that I've made a part of my routine. I know that within ten minutes of waking up that I am going to journal. I schedule my yoga classes ahead of time and they show up on my Google Calendar. If I don't plan out my classes ahead of time, it's hard for me to go on a whim. Even today as I'm writing this post I debated with myself I'm going to the 4 o'clock class even though it's a short walk away and I could've absolutely taken it, but instead, I'm sitting on my couch writing this post (at least I'm getting something accomplished).

Treating your goals like it your actual paying job is going to give you the level of commitment and accountability that you need to achieve them. I know that my journaling practice makes me happier. I know that going to yoga makes me feel better. I'm being accountable to myself. Even though I know I want to learn Welsh and I want to finish the certificate training, I haven't given it the same amount of weight that I've given other goals of mine. I'm an Obliger, so I know that I need to be held accountable. I have to treat all of my goals just like a boss scheduled me to show up for my shift. I have to put that time on the schedule so I can dedicate my full attention to these goals.

The time we have on this earth is finite, so why not take this limited time and spend it doing something that will elevate ourselves? I'm all for rest, relaxation, and zoning out on the random iPhone game you just downloaded but that can't be every day. There's nothing that grinds my gears more than someone with big dreams and goals, and they haven't put an ounce of effort into it. This is me saying put up or shut up. Again, this is for me as well as it's for you. Let's all show up for ourselves, my friends.

This is the season finale for Tough Love Tuesday! Stay tuned for updates on this series coming soon. Thank you all for your support on TLT by BLT. It's meant the world to me.