Phase Three: Making Progress & Honing In

Phase three of the Pain Into Energy Challenge is here! These past four weeks seemed to fly by, didn’t they? Whether this process of change has been easy for you or you’ve experienced a few setbacks here and there, I want to let you know that I’m proud of you thus far. By stepping into this journey and showing up in the best way that you can right now, you are creating ripples in the ocean of your life. And that’s worth celebrating!

Introduction to Phase Three

This final phase of your challenge is about preparing you for a lifelong habit of learning and transformation. This week, we’ll be learning how to:

  • Set goals that are meaningful
  • Gain clarity on what’s important to you and what’s not
  • Generate motivation and excitement around completing the actions that take you closer to them
  • Monitor your progress
  • Enjoy the process

Lesson One: Making What’s Unconscious Conscious

According to James Clear, author of the best selling self help book Atomic Habits, “One of the greatest barriers to achieving your goals is the OTHER goals you have.” When we embark upon a journey of change, most of us think that we are working toward ONE clear goal. But the reality is that, while we may be giving one goal most of our energy and attention right now, most people have at least a dozen other goals hovering at various levels of awareness.

The Trouble with Competing Goals

In this excerpt of a longer interview, Dr. Sophia Henshaw summarizes the reality of competing goals and gives an example of what it might look like when a goal you’re working on is in conflict with how you want to live your life.

Identifying Conscious & Unconscious Goals

As we discussed in our last Live Chat, there are 6 life areas to consider when exploring our goals. Those are:

  • Relationships – How you relate to others (family, friends, intimate others, co-workers, etc.)
  • Career – the work that you do for a living and the occupational path you see for yourself
  • Health & Fitness – your physical, emotional, and psychological well-being
  • Financial – matters relating to money, such as earnings, investments, or how you manage your wealth
  • Spiritual/Religious – your belief system, values, and the practices/rituals you use to observe them; I like to include personal growth and development here, for those who don’t consider themselves spiritual or religious.
  • Location/Lifestyle – how and where you live your life (typically based on the other areas); and the daily rituals that represent your priorities, personality, and personal values

Although we may not be aware of them, I personally believe that we each have at least ONE, if not more, goals in each of these areas. So, today, your assignment is to WRITE THEM DOWN.

Write Down Your Goals

Take some time to reflect on each lifestyle area, then use the section below to write down ONE or TWO goal(s) for each. If you find yourself stuck, remember that this doesn’t have to be perfect. A goal that may seem small and insignificant right now may actually be playing an important role in your life. Once you’ve completed this section, write your goals down in a notebook or in a file on your computer so you can refer back to them whenever you need to.

That’s it for today. Were you surprised by any of the things you wrote down?

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