Track

Dandapani Are you on track?

11th June 2022

Siva Ashram, Costa Rica

We are close to reaching the halfway mark of 2022. It feels, at least to me, the new year was not too long ago. A new year is often a promise of hope. A time when many people make plans, set goals and resolutions, and more than anything wish for things to be better, especially in the throes of a pandemic.

Where are you today relative to the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of this year? Are you on your way to achieving them? Is the year turning out the way you planned it? I’ll be the first to say that life can throw us many curve balls and derail our best laid plans. It’s something I’ve experienced many times and I know I will continue to experience throughout my life. And in a pandemic we can expect such things to happen more often.

It’s easy to forget what we have pledged and resolved to ourselves at the always inspiring dawn of a new year. But unless our goals are in the forefront of our mind it is easy to get distracted by all that life hurls our way.

Our ability to focus allows us to bring our awareness back to what matters most. To what we have pledged to ourselves to do at the onset of the year. A sure way to weaken your willpower is to not follow through on the things you said you would do. Repeat such acts over and over again and you continue to weaken your willpower. Your willpower is one of your greatest assets and the last thing you want to do is to weaken it by not following through on the resolutions you made (either to yourself or to others).

It’s a great time to take stock of where you are today relative to the goals and resolutions you made at the beginning of the year. Keep this exercise simple. If you had written down your goals and resolutions on a piece of paper, in a book or a digital note, then pull it up and review it. Ask yourself, "Am I on track to achieving them or have I been distracted?"

If you have been distracted then write down what it is that you have been distracted with and begin the process of shifting your awareness away from those things (and people).

If you are on track, then ask yourself if you are making progress. There are always signs of progress if you are observant enough. If I am driving from San Francisco to San Diego and I see a sign that says I have 300 miles to go I know I am on track. If a couple of hours later I see a sign that says 210 miles to go then I know I am making progress.

If I tell myself that I am not going to snack 7 times a day and after two months I find myself only snacking two times a day then I am making progress.

Evaluate where you are today. Course correct if needed. You always have to course correct in life. It’s better to make micro course corrections than macro ones. Micro ones are doable. They are less daunting. They have less of an unsettling ripple effect on you and your environment (the people and things around you).

Keep your goals in the forefront of your mind. Stay focused on them. After all, they are what you want. And if your mind is not on them, you can guarantee they are not going to manifest.

In peace,

Dandapani