Determined to finish: 3 ways to push through when you feel pulled away
You’ve done it.
Your goals are written. Your meals are planned. Your alarms are set.
You mapped out all the steps for a positive, productive week.
What you didn’t plan for is the discomfort you feel in the process of making healthy changes. Oh yes—the difficult parts. The parts of juggling being a wife, a mom, a professional, and let’s not forget it’s the first week of school. The parts of wanting and planning for change when you see no results. We start to feel stressed out, anxious and overwhelmed from being too busy.
One pull after another pull and your motivation dwindles.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. With three simple decisions, we can choose to push through even when life seems to pull us away.
Check your capacity
I don’t know about you, but my days are usually pretty full. I am a wife and a mom to all boys. At any given time, I am a referee, taxi driver, subject matter expert, and a horrible Fortnite player. On top of that, I have a day job, because we all know being a wife and mom is a full-time job all by itself. Between the needs of my family, the responsibilities of my career, and my desire to maintain my friendships, I can feel stretched and pulled some days. Can you relate?
Nothing pulls at us more than when we give beyond our capacity.
We allow control to get in the way of delegating responsibility. Our hands and our attention don’t have to be on everything. Let the kids make their lunch. Let the team member lead the meeting. Allow your husband to fold the towels (even though he folds them wrong). Tell your friend you can meet next week. Most importantly, be okay with saying no.
Pushing through when you feel pulled away often lies in how we manage our boundaries. We just cannot be in all places, do all things, for all people. We are not God. We have limits. When you start to feel pulled, choose to push through being busy to have margin to chooose your best yes.
Celebrate the steps
Feeling pulled in many directions happens when we focus more on what we have left to do instead of what we’ve accomplished. Sure you may not have the entire paper finished, but you did complete a page. The new product has not sold out, but you sold another one. You haven’t lost the 15 pounds, but you are one pound lighter.
Celebrating the small victories encourages up to maintaining long-term change. Acknowledging your progress boosts your confidence to continue making choices to push through even when you feel pulled away from what matters. One step is the first of many victories to accomplishing big dreams and big change. Recognize the good!
Effective or efficient
Throughout the day, there are quite a few opportunities and responsibilities that pop up to pull your attention. People who want to make their need your priority. In those moments you must decide, effectiveness or efficiency?
Efficient people focus on getting things done, but effective people focus on getting the right thing done.
Where is your focus? Are you focused on merely checking off tasks or are you zoned into the steps needed to move towards your goal?
When we align ourselves with who and what matters most, then we can push through the distraction. We are not so easily swayed by the unrealistic demands of our time and energy. Let’ be honest. Focusing on too much doesn’t get a lot done. Actually, it creates the opposite effect. Instead of feeling the need to multi-task, identify your priorities and stick to them. The rest can wait!
Coffeeeandcream
Really good tips!
I’m a new blogger, I would love if you checked out my site! x
Mamie L. Pack
CoffeeeandcreamThanks. Will do.
Claudette
Fortnite will be the end of me. 🙃😉
Mamie L. Pack
ClaudetteYou and me both! 😆😆😆
Kristina
I really like the intentionality behind this. I too often just go through the motions and half-heartedly pursue my goals. It’s time to really push in! Thanks for the encouragement!
Mamie L. Pack
KristinaI am glad you were encouraged.
jennifer
These are awesome tips! I always have “life changing great ideas/goals”, stick with them for a few weeks, but then fall off the bandwagon 🙁 I’m definitely going to try to celebrate the steps along the way, hopefully acknowledging small victories will get me to stick to my goals!
Mamie L. Pack
jenniferYou should definitely celebrate. Every step is a step forward. Are you working toward a particular goal?
Kirstie
I feel like my life is constant multitasking 😅😅
Mamie L. Pack
KirstieMe too! I have to make myself stop sometimes to refocus my attention. Do you do that too?
Deeksha Tripathi
beautiful post…truly motivating!
Mamie L. Pack
Deeksha TripathiAwww thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Angie
Thanks for the tips! I needed motivation today! It’s so easy to get lost in all the craziness of everyday life!
Mamie L. Pack
AngieYes, it is! What step will you use today?
deimile
I couldn’t agree more that celebrating small victories can help us push trough and stick to the bigger picture. We, moms, expect so much of ourselves we sometimes forget to pat ourselves on the back for the smaller achievements.
Mamie L. Pack
deimileI agree! We can become so performance based that we miss all that we have already accomplished.
Jenn
I really think this is a relevant post for both your personal and professional life. I like the idea of reassessing your capacity. There’s only so much you can do!
Mamie L. Pack
JennKnowing our capacity it important so we don’t burn out.
Aryn Hinton
These are such great tips. Definitely all things I could work on!
Mamie L. Pack
Aryn HintonGlad it was encouraging. What is one step you can take this week?
April Nelson
Very practical advice on a topic that so many (especially busy moms) need encouragement in. The saying no also allows for us to be more efficient. It’s not always easy to say no but we have to get to a place that we can have a better balance as balance is key to so much!!
Mamie L. Pack
April NelsonLearning “no” is a complete sentence was a game changer. It is freeing and empowering.
Ala Doros
I think that celebrating your steps and succes is very important to motivate you to go further
Harassedmom (@laurakim123)
I am a great starter but not so great at finishing :-p I get bored easily but I am working really hard on making sure things get finished. Small steps
mamawritesreviews
Yeah, I’ve hit a wall lately.. not necessarily with blogging, but just with everything at the moment.
Ariana
This is such good advice, I love your quote “Efficient people focus on getting things done, but effective people focus on getting the right thing done.” so much truth to that statement!
Mamie L. Pack
ArianaThanks Ariana! Learning to work in effective will also help us to have more time for the things we love.
A Nation of Moms
I seriously need to DELEGATE as well. Everything seems to fall on my shoulders and I can’t handle all of it all the time. I can literally feel myself starting to de-rail when I am so overwhelmed.
Mamie L. Pack
A Nation of MomsSadly many women/moms feel that we have to carry it or we are not doing our part. Shifting this mindset changes everything.
acgougler
This post really spoke to me today. I had a rough day yesterday and just felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I was definitely stretched beyond my capacity! Thank you for sharing!
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Jen @ Jen Bradley | MOMS
I absolutely love the quote about the difference between effective people and efficient people! I need to do some evaluation there.
Mamie L. Pack
Jen @ Jen Bradley | MOMSWhen we learn the difference, we can make our own changes.
Ashley Newton
I’ll try to work more on celebrating my “steps” no matter how small they may seem to me!
Mamie L. Pack
Ashley NewtonYay!! You definitely should. You might realize you are making more progress than you realize.
Ceci Rey
Great suggestions! I love the difference between effective and efficient people!
Mamie L. Pack
Ceci ReyYes. We often confuse the two.
Leslie W.
Great info. SO true.
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Sherry M Lee
I was an efficient person for far too many years of my life. I now work on being a much more effective person. 🙂
jenbradleyllc
Learning to appreciate the small steps is hugely helpful in being able to overcome the obstacles we face. These are all great reminders!
Mamie L. Pack
jenbradleyllcThose small steps add up! Thanks for reading Jen.
Jasmine
I needed this I’ve been having a hard time pushing through lately.
Mamie L. Pack
JasmineDefinitely been there Jasmine! Thanks for reading.
Life With Sonia
I am always multi-tasking. Even though i am use to it it gets exhausting.
Mamie L. Pack
Life With SoniaYes! Sometimes it’s not the best way for us to tackle our lists.