What Keeps Us From Fulfilling Our Purposes?
What really are the purposes? Why do we define them at the beginning of new periods? How long does it take to be able to fulfill our purposes? It seems that having the beginning of a stage ahead of you is one of the best motivations to reflect on what we would like to change.
Leaving aside the popular purposes of losing weight and quitting smoking, which are repeated every year and are rarely fulfilled, there are other types of purposes, perhaps more personal and with greater weight. Now what can we do to make them persist and be fulfilled? One of the secrets is to have them close to sight throughout the year and convert them into concrete actions. That is, that beside the purpose, the way in which we are going to execute it is clearly defined.
Transforming desires into actions is what gives seriousness and consistency to our purposes, which converts them into seeds to obtain the fruit we want to achieve. In this sense, having them close to the vision means that we don’t forget about them or that we don’t fall behind in our priority scale.
A study by the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania, showed that 92% of the population failed to make New Year’s resolutions, and one of the reasons was the ones described above: too general planning, without concrete actions, and failing to clearly visualize what is needed. want to achieve.
The engine to fulfill our purposes: motivation
The secret to getting what we want lies in motivation, and in making it keep up with the wear and tear that the passage of time causes. Do I really want to achieve what I set out to do? Do I have the tools to get it? Is it up to me to get what I work for? Do I see myself with possibilities to achieve?
A good part of the answers to such important questions is motivation. If I see myself capable, if what I’m looking for is what I want, if I can visualize myself having what I work for and if each day I’m thinking of small goals and I’m seeing the progress, even though they are minimal day by day , I will feel that this reinforcement compensates the wear and tear of overcoming the different obstacles that arise.
Internal motivation is the best energy to bring us closer to what we want. Making a list, in which we invest time and enthusiasm, and then abandon it, only causes frustration and hurts self-esteem. Another essential element so that this list does not end up in a drawer, or as a decorative element on the wall, is that it has an internal coherence, in addition to being realistic (adapted to my possibilities and the resources I rely on) and having a unifying goal in the background. Whatever happens, let it be fulfilled. We talk about personal growth.
What can I propose to do in new stages of life?
Propose something new, let go of what you’ve been proposing and couldn’t achieve, because suddenly, the reason for this is that it lacks strength, lacks will or lacks to make it concrete and tangible. It remains to be made real, perhaps because it is too general and we forget that purposes, in order to survive, need to touch reality.
I propose that you find each day something to smile about, not just the general purpose of being happy. I propose that you don’t set a goal to lose weight, but leave the treats for the weekend and put in your schedule three times to exercise during the week.
Do something this year that you haven’t done before, it doesn’t have to be big things like skydiving, climbing high and steep mountains or visiting a country on every continent. It will be enough to enroll in activities you don’t know about, taste unfamiliar dishes, talk to different people, walk new paths or see movies you would never have given a chance to.
The magic of purposes is that they invite us to be better, to continue building our best version and to think about challenges. When wanting to advance and expand what we know, the magic of purposes is that they are built by you.
