Let’s take a trip to the end of 2010, the build up to Christmas in fact. Where I live, in Britain, we are feeling the effects of the global economic problems, and also feeling the effects of the austerity measures introduced by the coalition government. So, you could be forgiven for expecting the Christmas shopping rush to be less than usual, right? Er, well no! Read on to find out why, and how it can impact your goal achievement in 2011…
In the run up to Christmas, people go mad in the supermarket. They buy up 10 loaves of bread, 20 pints of milk, and bags and bags of fruit until their trolley overflows. It’s way more than they usually buy, and it’s way more than they need since the supermarkets are only shut for one day. What’s even more amazing is to hear what people say to the cashier or other people in the queue…
“I don’t know why I buy all this, I’ll throw most of it away. It’s got to be done though, hasn’t it!”
That right there is a reason for most people failing to achieve their goals, and it’s down to conforming to society’s beliefs rather than challenging them.
If you’re going to throw a lot of food away, in times of economic hardship, then don’t buy it! When you say it has to be done, *who* says it has to? The only thing forcing you to buy food you know you will throw away, is your belief that society thinks you should – your belief that it’s the done thing at Christmas to buy too much food.
To most people, the idea of saying “I’m only going to buy what I’ll eat” is a leap of independence too far, that somehow society will think them an outcast if they only buy one loaf of bread instead of 10. You may think that’s a throwaway example (excuse the pun!), but if you extend that way of thinking to goal achievement, you’ll see my point.
Most people will not follow their dream, will not pursue the career the really want, because they think society will view them as weird. It’s easier to get a job that society views as normal, rather than following the path you actually prefer. It’s the same thing as the food shopping, the idea of ‘normal’ is all in the head, and it just needs a little tweak in your thinking patterns to unleash some real potential.
Instead of worrying about what society thinks, how about making your *own* choices about what you want to do, and following it up with action. Don’t let society make your career choices for you, take control, take responsibility for your own choices.
So to sum up, don’t let the habits of Christmas shopping form the habits which stop you going for your goals.
I write about just this sort of thing in my book ‘Transform Your Life in 21 Days!’ which has been described as ‘motivational magic.’ Read about it at: http://www.transformyourlifenow.com
