Positive changes are often overshadowed by less favourable shifts. This means that when we are trying to fix or free ourselves from problem, we tend to be attuned to information that confirms what is wrong. It takes a conscious effort to buck the trend and look for improvements, especially when they are small.

I was speaking to somebody recently about personal change and ambition. Three points seemed relevant:

It’s worth remembering that progress is often ‘two steps forwards and one step back’. Some people get impatient and see setbacks as “It’s all gone wrong”. Keep the faith and hang in there.
If there are some days (or weeks) where things are less motivating than you’d like them to be, just flow with it, they’ll pick up in time (and your mind is working on it even when you are not aware of it, if you have a vision of where you want to go)
Look out for the positive changes, even the smallest, it’ll be good to notice them because it’s motivating to know something is happening. People often fail to see the small positive changes when they are fixated on their past performance or the ‘problem’.

I’ve been writing on the Solution Focused approach lately, and it’s my SF work and training that influences my thinking here, so here are some links to earlier posts that relate:

Solution Focused Thinking

Good Questions Need No Answers

Is It Failure, Or Just Punctuation?

I’m a psychologist, coach, and therapist. All my work is aimed at enabling people to improve personal aspects of their lives and work.

Loading...

"Train your mind to look for your successes. They are happening all the time, you just have to look for them."
"We only develop greater resilience when we are deeply emotionally connected to other people."
"If you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right".
"Just because you can, it doesn't mean you should, nor that you have to".
"Simplify your life and work to be content. That will create the space for you to notice the joy. It's always there if you look."
“Personal Change Begins In The Imagination. You Have To Imagine It Before You Can Become It, Whatever ‘It’ Is”

One Comment

Mrs. Doodle Journey February 18, 2016 at 9:56 pmLog in to Reply

Thank you Barry for this post. It’s easy to forget that everyone started at the bottom, and instead we compare ourselves to the people who are successful without taking into consideration all the hard work that was put into it.There are a few quotes I like to constantly remind myself of, one of them being from Michelangelo: “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” We all need to focus on progression, not perfection. There will ALWAYS be someone else better at something than you, but if you try to mirror someone else, you will forever be second best. We are all unique, and not one person is exactly identical to the next, which is what makes us all so special.