Whilst working in Antigua, my mate Duncan and I were chatting about what we want to achieve in life.
Being in the Caribbean was lush, but at times we both felt demotivated and lethargic. Perhaps it was the warm weather and the laid back way of living, seeping into our day to day life. Or maybe it was because we’d lost our daily routines.
Whatever the reason, we’d both lost momentum with what we were striving to achieve.
What I write next has been tricky to explain, so I hope it comes across ok…..
What we are trying to achieve = pushing the snowball.
The more time I’d spent not pushing the metaphorical snowball, the more snow had built up around it, and the harder it was to push. So I stopped pushing it.
The snowball had got bigger and heavier and become weighted to the ground.
I thought about my snowball, and Duncan’s snowball and everybody else’s snowball – they all looked similar, but each one had different things inside them and they were all being pushed in different directions.
Then I thought ‘what’s inside my snowball?’
What are the things I do each day that are important to me?
Want do I work towards each week, month and year?
And what do I want to achieve by pushing it?
I wrote down the answers.
Here are my answers to the first question.
- Exercise and move my body
- Fresh air and daylight
- Eat healthy, whole-food
- Make steps towards my next adventure and sponsorship
- Make more videos and write blogs
- Hang out with like-minded people who want to explore, laugh and chat about the world
I’ve never written these things down like this before.
I’m surprised how simple my list is. There’s nothing on there that is hard to achieve. Moving my ‘snowball’ should be a joy each day.
But the reality is things can get in the way. What a terrible excuse!
Writing that list helped me understand what I need and want, and what a privilege to have such a satisfying, joyful and simple list.
So why am I not pushing my snowball every day? Even just for a couple of pushes to keep it moving.
I found writing down my core values a really useful exercise, and it was really easy. It helped clarify what’s really important to me.
So next I ask:
What’s in your snowball?
What are the things you do each day that are critical for your happiness, productivity and fulfilment?
What are the things you are passionate about?
What do you or what would you like to work towards each day?
Your answers do not need to be massive, life-changing events. Some, if not all can be things like getting 15 minutes of fresh air each day, speaking to your parents three times a week or writing one paragraph of that book you’ve dreamt about each day.
Give it a try. Write them down. I found it really helpful.
Once you start pushing your snowball you might be amazed at how fast it moves and where it ends up.
I finally got back to pushing mine and it feels GREAT!
Now to keep up the momentum and fulfilling that brilliant list.
I hope you enjoyed this blog.
As ever, I have written it for myself as a point of reference.
I’ll re-read that list again in the not-too-distant future to make sure I’m pushing my snowball each day and in the right direction.
If you found this useful, I’d love to hear from you.
Maybe tell me some of the things you wrote on your list?
Find me on social media and let me know what’s in your snowball.