Choose Good Fuel To Get Back on Track

This past weekend, I got together with a group of high school friends for an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Kristen welcomed us into her beautiful home, all decked out with shamrocks and streamers, lined up a fun craft for us to do — painting wine glasses — and put out an incredible spread of food. Check out this cake she made:

Pretty cool, eh?

The 80s music blasted as we reminisced, laughed, caught up on each others’ lives, laughed,played fun games, and laughed. Did I mention laugh? Based on the post-party messages,
everyone’s stomach muscles hurt the next day.

It was just what I needed after the tiny house setback I wrote about last week. Being around people who have known me as long as these friends have made it easy to let go, chill out, and get lost in the fun. It was a great way to refuel after feeling depleted. My time with friends this weekend is what I call some high-grade octane!

To stay on track with your goals, you need as much of your energy as possible. After using life’s curveball as an opportunity to reevaluate, it’s time to get rid of some energy vampires and replenish your tank.

As you refocus on your goal, here are the things to avoid:

• commiserators who don’t know when enough’s enough
• naysayers
• becoming a couch potato
• sugary foods (except for leprechaun hat cakes, of course!)
• expecting yourself to take big leaps instead of small steps

The last thing you need when you’re already feeling defeated is more negativity.

Once you’ve reclaimed some energy, you’re now ready to get your inspiration going again. The best way to do this is to get out of your head.

There’s a reason why you get your best ideas in the shower — you’re doing something so routine that it doesn’t take a lot of thought. This frees your mind up to tap into its creativity and intuition.

Other ways to gain access to those treasures include:

• changing your scenery
• exercising
• listening to energizing or inspiring music
• laughing (like, say, at a get together with old friends)
• taking a long, warm bath
• getting out in nature

Bonus benefit: These are also great ways to shake off the gremlins if you’re feeling defeated, frustrated, hopeless, or stuck.

While it can sometimes feel like you’re taking one step forward and two steps back, your dreams are worth fighting for. When done right, recovering from a setback can give you renewed energy and a new perspective, and there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself recommitted to your goals more than ever.

Go get ’em!