An important component of goal setting is planning for obstacles. You might be clear on what you want to achieve and how to get there, but have you planned for obstacles and sacrifices? Will you be tempted to go back when it gets too hard or uncomfortable? Will you go back when you have decided that you just can't win? It can be a challenge to become a work at home mum or establish a work from home business, especially if this situation is different from your past experiences. The truth is, with the acknowledgement that obstacles will arise and a solid contingency plan, it is possible to burn bridges and ensure that you will always be moving forward towards your goals.
So how do we burn bridges? By strategically removing the conditions which will enable us to go back or give up. Those conditions may be material or psychological. As a psychological example, not committing ourselves fully to achieving a desired outcome can protect us from feelings of inadequacy, failure, resignation and defeat. This is because if we don’t commit, we don’t promise anything to ourselves and therefore maintain little attachment or expectations about the outcome. The same way that we feel less accountable when we make no promises, to ourselves or others. An example for a material condition could be keeping a contract open with an employer or partner, or reserving a spot in a childcare centre for your child, in case your new projects, work from home business or job doesn’t work out.
The main issue with keeping doors open to ‘go back’, is that going back often means returning to the very things we were trying to get away from. Burning bridges is a key part in establishing all the psychological and material conditions which will be instrumental in reaching our goals, and eliminating the conditions holding us back. That is, burning bridges helps build a strong mindset for success, and also helps create the right supportive environment.
Burning bridges makes it HARDER to go back, and EASIER to succeed.
Here are some key points about burning bridges:
- Eliminating the option to give up and go back means that the only option remaining is to go forward.
- Being overtly accountable to yourself and others for your success reinforces your commitment. For example, you can make a promise to achieve your goal to yourself and your family members, whether it is in regards to working from home or anything else!
- Acknowledging obstacles in advance and preparing a contingency plan will empower you to burn bridges and respond positively to obstacles as they arise.
- Building a strong emotional attachment to your desired outcomes will conversely build incongruity with your previous situation, pulling you forward. Think about WHY you want to achieve a particular goal, and maintain that positive focus on your target.
- Having only one option (moving forward towards your goal) increases your focus, resourcefulness, patience and perseverance.
Some bridges act like a rope, holding you back and preventing you from fully taking off in the direction of your dreams. Not burning bridges can be the very factor limiting our success as work at home mums. When there is no turning back, when you have NO OTHER OPTION but to succeed, psychologically, financially or socially, you WILL succeed. Burning bridges means letting go of the past and opening the doors wide open for our future.
Do you think bridges should be burnt? What bridges have you burnt in the past? Did it help you succeed, or move in the direction of your dreams? Which bridges are you ready to burn as you get closer to your goals? Please share your inspiring work at home mums stories here!
Justine Simard is a mum and home business owner, passionate about empowering other mums through personal development and entrepreneurship. Visit Work At Home Mums to find out about a work from home business which allows mums to work around their kids, and to achieve a greater income, a better lifestyle and more freedom.
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