Finding New Patterns

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not a skill, but a habit."-Aristotle

When it comes to coaching, or just going about our daily lives, this is THE guiding quote you will hear me sharing over and over again. Sometimes, we psych ourselves out of progress because we are sucked into believing that for great change to occur, there must be some grandiose shift in our lives. Often, we get stuck in a "holding pattern" or plateau, awaiting such a shift or feeling helpless to make such a gigantic leap to achieve our desired outcome.

Have you ever found yourself walking on a crowded street or trying to get off a public transit train, and every time you step forward someone is in your way? You step on their heels, someone steps on your heels, you just can't seem to break through the crowd to get to where you want to go. That's kind of what it feels like when we are attempting to launch toward our end goal without first taking the small steps and pathways we need to break through. We just keep tripping over ourselves or other obstacles that pop up.

Consider this, most of the time, when we feel stuck it is because we are caught up in a familiar (but possibly unrecognized) pattern.

If you're working toward something right now--whether in fitness, nutrition, mindfulness, school, work or anything else in your life--and you're feeling stuck, defeated or a bit frustrated...let's find out if it's the same monster repeatedly presenting itself to inhibit your progress.

• Reflect on efforts you have made in the past. What were those endeavors? How did the story go? What moved you forward? What held you back or halted your progress completely?
• Were their external factors that influenced you, or was it something in how you handled or reacted to those influences?
• What was within your control and what wasn't? Did you recognize and accept the things you could not control?

Now, think of all of those reflections and compare them to what you're currently working toward.

• Are there any common elements?
  
• Are there obstacles that seem familiar or similar frustrations that you can recall feeling in a prior endeavor? 
  
• Are you trying to control the uncontrollable by using a strategy, behavior, or coping mechanism that has not seemed to work?

If you are able to recognize any parallels, consider this your "pattern monster." We may never defeat our inherent pattern monsters by continuously slamming into them, but we can certainly out-smart them.

Bring recognition and clarity to your patterns.
Refrain from criticizing or judging yourself.
Simply notice what's happening, name it and leave it at that.
This can be challenging, but lean in to this process!

Once you have brought some definition to your old patterns, let's work on letting them go and finding some new habits to put into play. Breaking old habits and discovering the small shifts you can implement to redirect your efforts will change what you are repeatedly doing. If you can change what you are doing on a daily basis, you won't need to wait for that great, grandiose shift. You will be progressively creating it. By putting positive habits into play---consistently and repeatedly---you will be developing a whole new pattern.

Each step you take to recognize your tendencies and adjust your actions will incrementally progress you toward your goals.

So, what is it that you can do just a little bit differently today that will move you forward?

Cheers to getting un-stuck!

-Coach Cassie

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