It’s not a secret that many of our dreams never become a reality due to a variety of reasons, but the Covid-19 pandemic has put a whole new spin on things. We are dealing with all sorts of interruptions and issues that can put our goals on hold. These include: grief from all the Covid-related deaths; business closure; unused gym memberships; constant postponements of travel and work-related engagements; and financial constraints. However, all is not lost; this is an opportunity to find innovative ways of achieving our goals. We can use this time to introspect and understand why our targets are often far from our reach. These include the following:

1. Biting off more than you can chew, meaning you set too many ambitious goals thinking you have a lot of time on your hands. 

2. Setting goals that would require a drastic change from your current state. Be realistic as to what you would need to be, do, acquire, or put in place to make that goal a reality. It may be a better idea to set milestones that you can work towards through adequate preparation as you move towards the ultimate goal. This will spare you unnecessary disappointment and frustration. You might feel invincible at the moment, but it takes more than euphoria to achieve it. 

3. The failure to recognise how your mind is sabotaging your goals. Your mind influences every action you have ever taken or failed to take (in other words, your mind controls your life). Your mind also runs on a pre-existing “programme” known as habits. Since you have been developing and running this programme since childhood, it can be very deeply rooted. When you try to develop new habits, your mind will try to fight you to return to its familiar programme. Therefore, it will take all your willpower to consistently do something new until it becomes a habit, and the old programme is exchanged for the new one that will help you to achieve your goals.

So, how do you update your mindset? By repetition. You have consistently repeated a set of thoughts, actions, and habits to get to where you are now, whether you are happy with the results or not. According to science, it takes about 21 days to effectively form a new habit; therefore, the first 21 days of executing your goal may be extremely challenging. After 21 days of consistency, it becomes easier to do what you need to do. Unfortunately, most people do not make it past day 7 and they conclude that this process cannot work for them, or that it just requires too much effort. That’s when they return to their usual routines and forget they had New Year’s resolutions to begin with.   

Here are some things to consider as you set your goals:

1. Repetition: List all the beliefs, actions, and thoughts you have that are contrary to your desired goals. Then, for each item, make a list of positive affirmations to counteract the limiting belief. Repeat the list of affirmations to yourself every single day. Those positive statements will begin to influence your thoughts, and very soon your actions as well.

2. Form new habits: It is very hard to completely stop a bad habit; it is best to rather swap outdated habits that no longer serve you with new ones. For your new goal, make a list of all the habits that are hindering your progress and select the new habits that you would like to install. Make a plan to practice these new habits for 21 days until they become natural to you. For this exercise, it is advisable to get an accountability partner to help keep you on track.

3. The power of association: I love a quote by Jim Rohn which says: “You become the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. Simply put, you cannot become better than the people or things you spend most of your time with. Therefore, mind the company you keep in the pursuit of your goals.

*Saara Shatumbu is a Mind Power coach and the founder of MINDQuest Africa