How I deal with discouragement

I missed my goals again!

For some reason, I’ve been feeling bummed this week in my outrageous retirement lifestyle quest. . Maybe it is the idea of a new year with the plans and goals that I want to achieve that is overwhelming me. Maybe it is the realization that I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted last year. Maybe I’m coming down with a cold. I don’t know the explanation but it makes it hard to sit down and focus. I start telling myself “What’s the use?” because I’m not going to accomplish what I want to do anyway. It is hard to fight those feelings. I have fallen far short of the goals I set. Why would I ever think of trying again?

This is a struggle I have often. And every time it seems brand new and overwhelming. I don’t have what it takes. Why not just give up and take it easy? I know the answer. It is a lie. It is the same one every time but knowing the answer is not the same thing as believing.

But missing a goal is not failing

You see, I know that falling short is a big part of success. I have to think big when I plan my ideal retirement lifelstyle. I know that falling short of my goals is not failure. I know that if I reach my goals, it only means that I set them too low and that even when I miss my goal, I still have made progress. I know all that but still I must struggle with the part of me that wants me to give up and lose. It is that struggle which takes every ounce of energy I possess, again and again. And when I win and struggle on, it only means that I will face the challenge anew in a week or month.

I believe that successful people who build an outrageous retirement lifestyle find and win this battle over and over without ever achieving their definition of success because success is a process and not a destination. Not reaching a goal is not failing unless it stops the process. Successful people must accept and embrace missing their goals and pushing on to higher ones.

Failure is in my head

I can handle this on an intellectual level. I can talk about it; write about it; pontificate about it; bullshit about it. What I can’t do is handle it emotionally which is the only way that matters. Each time I struggle like it is the first time. The only point that matters is that I continue to struggle. I fight back; Set new goals and work harder. It is hard at first to overcome the negatives that I want to embrace but it gradually gets easier over time. Until the next time.

How about your lifestyle? Is it outrageous or average. Maybe you don’t get discouraged or put yourself down but if you do and you have a way to get yourself going again, I would love to know about it.