Ironic Kindness

I promise I didn’t do it on purpose, but it’s funny how things work out, isn’t it?

When I slated this post into my writing schedule, I firmly believed that I would be writing and scheduling this a couple of weeks ago. But instead, I am writing this on January 27 – 2 days before I want it to go live. When I slated this post into my writing schedule, I knew that kindness to yourself and others matter so much when it comes to achieving your goals.

Things don’t work out the way you plan.

Something else comes along that is WAY more urgent.

Sometimes you have a bad attitude about something else in your life and you just can’t shake it. This is happening to me with my courses this semester. I just feel peeved about them. There’s no way around that. I just have to go through it.

The good news for me, and for you too, is that there’s definitely some data out there indicating that “cheating” can actually help you achieve your goals over the long run. Okay, so that article is regarding dieting. But I think the principle applies to other types of long-term goals. This article concludes that “authors theorize that when we’re intently focused on a strenuous target, we sometimes view the smallest lapse as evidence the entire endeavor has failed.”

So here we are, at the end of the month. I may not have succeeded as brilliantly as I wanted, but I have succeeded. And the good news is, you have too.

If you want a built-in accountability buddy or you thrive on public recognition of your goals, I’d like to invite you over to my Patreon page where both of those are rewards for $3 or $6 a month.

Photo by Jessica Ruscello on Unsplash