Are your goals in pain?

When the idea for this blog, Are Your Goals in Pain, first popped into my mind, I thought perhaps that only women would be able to relate to the analogy of a pregnant woman with labor pains. But after I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that anyone who’s alive has in some way experienced pregnancy, either directly or indirectly. You’ve either been around a pregnant woman, you have been or are a pregnant woman, or you’re married to a pregnant woman. It’s common knowledge that labor, especially right before giving birth, means temporary pain and discomfort. Sometimes lots of pain! We also know that the pain of labor gives birth to life, to joy, to watching growth.

What Are Your Goals?

Losing that last 20 pounds? Starting or growing a business? Becoming a master of a favorite hobby? Writing a book? There is pain in keeping goals.

The Pain of Goals

When it comes to goal setting, if you’re uber-disciplined, and keep your goals in a prominent place, you won’t experience a whole lot of pain surrounding your goals, and you’ll accomplish most, if not all, of them. Congratulations! You’re a rare breed.

Others may set goals on or around New Year’s Day, but then by February, the list is buried in your massive amount of files, or you forget about them, or, worse, you’ve abandoned them altogether. There’s pain in remembering that yet another year is passing without much realization of your goals.

And then there’s the rest of us. We like setting goals, and when we take time to write them down, we feel incredibly good and productive. We think ah ha, now I’m so focused, so intense, I’ll surely be able to check off every single one.

But then life happens.

Money problems come to visit. So do toxic family members. Your job or business overtakes your life. Your close relationships are compromised. Your personal issues won’t stop harassing you. That leaky roof finally gives way to a rain storm in your living room. A health scare hits you unexpectedly.

Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

Your goals are now in pain. You haven’t abandoned them. You still want to accomplish them. Yet, you feel derailed, detoured, and distracted.

You Are About to Give Birth

As a mother of two grown kids, I still remember that the worst pain and pushing happened moments before the birth of my babies, and may I say to ya, I had nine and ten pound babies with only Lamaze, so yes, it did hurt…bad. At that point, there was no turning back, no changing my mind.

I’m here to tell you that no matter where you are in your goal setting experience, there’s pain before the birth of those goals. There’s an adage that says something like anything worth having is worth fighting for. I will add to that by saying that anything worth having is worth experiencing pain through the process.

Push past the pain! Stay with your goals! If your goals need minor course corrections, then adjust accordingly. Once you’re fully committed to accomplishing your goals, there is no turning back. Know this: the pain will give way to birth. New life. New opportunities. New growth.

Don’t quit. You’ve come too far to abandon your goals. Push, push. Breathe, breathe. Then one more big push.

In one moment, you’ll look around and find that your goals have birthed and you gaze at their fulfillment in wonder. But it’s really no surprise. You did the work, now it’s time to enjoy the fruit of your labor.

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If you have a book inside you that’s aching to come out, contact me, and my team and I will help push your book out of your brain and heart and into the world.
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