At this challenging time, it’s all too easy to look at the big things we want to achieve and feel gloomy about our prospects of success, writes Richard Wood.
However, the good news is that there’s something we can all do to view these aims in a very different light.
Personal goals can be wide ranging, often relating to wealth and material items, but also linked to our health, such as losing weight and increasing fitness.
But whilst the objectives themselves may be different, the way we view them tends to be the same – and herein lies the problem.
Often influenced by what others appear to have achieved, we form a shifting ideal that we’re continually striving to attain, but never quite getting there.
This makes us feel like a hamster on a wheel, something many can relate to!
It’s also a source of constant dissatisfaction and unhappiness which, needless to say, isn’t a good thing for you or those around you.
Theodore Roosevelt once said that “Comparison is the thief of joy” and we can begin to rekindle our joy by thinking differently.
We do this by focusing on the gain rather than the gap.
Instead of measuring the gap between what we’ve already achieved and our ideal, we should reflect more positively and appreciate the gain; the progress we’ve made in our journey so far and the many benefits it has already brought us.
Returning to Roosevelt, his words should remind us that we’re on our own individual journeys and not following in the footsteps of others. Also remember that the future isn’t a reality, it’s a projection.
This change of mindset certainly doesn’t stop us being ambitious as we look beyond the current period. In fact, it puts us in a far healthier frame of mind and energises us to go on to achieve bigger and better goals while being happier and more thankful for what we’ve got.
My own personal journey during the lockdown
Although I’m on lockdown, my journey is continuing. I’m making time to exercise on my bike for two hours a day and spending quality time with my children.
I cook dinner every evening and we all sit down together, chatting and laughing. Afterwards, we all tidy up and wash the dishes.
I see this as a success, otherwise I could be focusing on what I am not currently able to achieve in my business or other areas around me.
All I can do is focus on what I can control, rather then what I can't – even thinking like this can be viewed as a significant success at the current time.
Richard Wood is BRWM's Managing Director