Motivational Monday: Defeated? – Sometimes Courage Is In Trying Again

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“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying “I will try again tomorrow” – Mary Anne Radmacher

Well, it’s no longer January and I’m sure most of you have given your New Year’s goals a try.  What do you do when you feel like you’ve already been defeated?  I came across today’s quote in one of my favourite quote books by R.J Palacio, the author of Wonder. After a long day, and powering through pieces of my goals all week and weekend, the words hit home.

It’s so easy to beat ourselves up for feeling lazy. For not getting there.  For defeat.  Even for not being sure how to continue. Well, today I’ve put together a list of my top tips for getting through that feeling. Read on for more (it’s a short, but sweet post today).

On Defeat: How Not To Lose

Okay, maybe “how not to lose” is not exactly the best title for this section.  We all lose sometimes, but it’s not really a loss if we can learn from it. 

Let me take a personal example:

A time when I was truly, literally defeated was a kickboxing match I lost at the University of Oxford about five years ago.   Not only was I literally defeated by my opponent, but since I broke my leg, I had absolutely no choice but to face one of my biggest fears – being treated in a hospital.

I realize that may seem ridiculously small. However, to me it was a nightmare come true.  The smells, the atmosphere, the lack of empathy, the cold halls…it felt dark and terrible to me, and I had to face it to overcome it. To try my best to find the positives (they didn’t have to operate, for example), and to power on through.

Nowadays, of course, I often feel like I’m losing in a different way.  Running out of time to meet an academic deadline, finding motivation to work towards a goal where I need to ponder my reason “why”, to name a couple.

Actually, regardless of the goal that we feel is “defeating” us,  it’s important that we take action and continue on our paths to success.

3 Ways To Find The Courage To Continue

1.  Find Time You Can Trade

Personally, I think that one of the keys to avoiding overwhelm is to make time for your priorities.  Sounds easy, right?  For me, this actually took a lot of planning this year.  I put every one of my “short-term” (this year) goals into my calendar with a schedule to follow.

In case you want to follow me over at Goodreads, you can follow my 2019 Reading Goal of 24 books. Now, that’s not many but it’s a lot more than 2018! How have I found time to read 2 and a bit books already? Well, I simply traded my Netflix time for something also relaxing, that would help me reach my goals.

What time can you trade in your schedule? If you plan carefully, it may be easier than you think!

2.  Remember Your Why

If you saw my post a few weeks ago, you’ll know I truly believe you have to find your “why” to be successful.

When we don’t know exactly why we want to achieve a goal, it makes the objective seem daunting, unachievable and pointless.

I recommend writing down you why for every single goal. It’s worked for me so far this year!

3.  Find Your Idols 

If you’ve been with this blog since the beginning, you know I’ve talked a lot about my “Blogger Heroes”, the idols I aspire to be like in the blogging world. Why?  Well, when I feel defeated I can take a look at them and say – that’s who I want to be.  That’s my “why” and my proof that dreams become reality. 

What if you could find an idol for every goal you set?  Wouldn’t that make the defeat easier and the silent struggle of trying again worth it?

On Drive (An Intro)

Okay, so this is a teaser for next week’s post, as I’m just about 15% through my current book.  Thanks to my 2019 reading goal, and my decision to trade Netflix “relax” time for curling up with a book, this is my third book this year.

Of course, I love referring all of you to TED Talks on the topic, and I can’t miss out this one by Dan Pink himself on the “puzzle” of motivation. 

I’ll comment on this TED talk in next week’s post because I have so much to say, and I want to finish Dan Pink’s book first.   I know it’s 10 years old now (crazy, right?!), but I think it’s every bit as relevant today as it was when I was about to quit the corporate world.  I do have a personal example from about 8 years ago that also completely matches what Pink is saying…so stay tuned!

Have a lovely and productive week!

P.S. Photo fans, the photo for today’s post (and poster!) is one I took in Split, Croatia in 2017.