Stop Saying Tomorrow

Working through the process of trying to achieve a goal, particularly one that doesn’t have a negative impact in your life if you don’t meet it, can be an incredible challenge in the process of leadership of self. Personal goals, unlike goals that are set for us at work, are ones that have no negative repercussions when they aren’t met. Yes, you may be disappointed in yourself, or you may disappoint others, but your essential needs will still have been met. This is where leading yourself takes the driver’s seat. When facing these obstacles along the way, it’s so important to try to find ways to keep the “why” in the forefront, introduce new things to keep it fresh & exciting, and take the time to ensure that you’re continuing to TRY.

Revisiting the Goal

In case you missed part 1, I set the goal for myself for 2021 to create ten (10) new pieces of art EVERY month for the year of 2021. With the defining of the why – I enjoy it, it helps my mental health, it gives me the opportunity to inspire others to create – I really felt like this was something important for me to do for myself. Prior to this year, I hadn’t taken creating as seriously as I should I have. While I took time to do it, I never dedicated the time to it with goals that could be measured. It was always easy to say “I’ll do this tomorrow,” and never get back to it because there was never a goal to hold myself accountable to. 2021 marks a change for that.

Is your goal still SChMART??

During my second episode on the Season 3 of the Lead With Empower podcast, I spoke with Dan Jaskot about how my progress for my own personal goal for 2021 to create more art, in a consistent manner. One of the major topics we talked about, as the S, M, A, R, and T portions of the goal stay roughly the same, was if my goal was still challenging. After making my way through January and half of February, was ten (10) pieces too many? Not enough? Was I finding ways to continue to challenge myself with those ten pieces? Did I feel like I was phoning it in?

Designing the Challenge for Tomorrow

Six weeks into this path to achievement with this goal, I know I need to continue to challenge myself. I could create the same type of art piece over and over and over again, because it’s easy. Or, I could find a new way to grow as an artist. Finding opportunities for growth is an integral part of leadership of self and overall personal development. Getting out of your comfort zone and introducing fresh, new activities or concepts will help in that personal development.

Personally, with this goal, I’ve been looking forward to tomorrow to find new ways to keep it fresh. I’ve registered for Skillshare and set up a series of courses to help learn new art strategies. I’ve pushed myself to get out of my comfort zone and try methods/mediums that are new to me. While “today,” in the sense of in the moment, has been challenging, I’m looking forward to the future to make sure that I continue to challenge myself. This is an important part of achieving goals – being able to look at today AND tomorrow while progressing through the process.

The Current Status – An Update.

So, where am I today, as of February 25? I managed to create a total of ten (10) pieces for January! I squeaked by, BARELY, but I did it. For February, as of last night (February 24) I hit my 10 piece mark. In February, I got out of my comfort zone and illustrated digital mandalas. In addition, I tried out working with ceramic tiles & alcohol inks over my normal Yupo paper/masking techniques with alcohol inks that I typically do. In both of those instances, branching out resulted in BIG wins that were absolutely unexpected. It’s literal proof that great things can come from getting out of your comfort zone and trying something completely new.

Looking Forward to Tomorrow

In last month’s blog, I asked the following questions when discussing looking forward, so I’ll evaluate my own progress in this accountability exercise.

Are there any roadblocks you might anticipate?
- At this time, not yet. But that doesn’t mean it WON’T happen. Trying to stay flexible and mindful is key for me here.
What did you learn in the past 31 days (or so) that determines any adjustments that need to be made to aid in the road to success?
- I’ve learned that integrating new ways of creating is a huge part of what will help me succeed here. Getting out of my comfort zone is ESSENTIAL for this goal to be achieved and for my own personal development.
What ways has the goal been challenging so far? What ways has it been easy?
- At this time, the quantity as the main measurable portion of this goal has been easy, but it’s still early with all the eager momentum. The biggest challenge is facing my fears of failure head-on when trying new techniques or mediums, but in the facing of those fears, I’ve had the biggest growth opportunities. I need to continue to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone to really continue to grow and maximize my success.

When chatting with Dan on my second episode on the Lead with Empower podcast, we wrapped with the final question – what would you say to someone who has a goal in mind that hasn’t started working on it yet? My response was simple and from my gut… Just start it. Even if you don’t have it fully laid out, planned, or mapped, just start working towards it. Every day that we say tomorrow, and don’t get started on what we want to accomplish is another day that nothing gets done.

Now, it’s your turn. Get after it.