Are you ready?

It’s Nutcracker time! At our house, the second weekend of December means showtime has finally arrived! My three youngest girls have been dancing in it for years.

This year, I have a senior. Unbelievably, it is her last year. And she gets to dance her two dream roles. Perfect—or is it?

Over the last several months I have had a front row seat to Julie’s ups and downs with this year’s show. Anxiety and stress run high, and there have been many tears of frustration and disappointment.

Last week, after a long rehearsal, Julie walked in the door and exclaimed,

“Something is wrong with my body! I CANNOT smile while I perform. It is physically impossible.”

She was dead serious.

I could not help but laugh. Oh, Julie.

From the outside, this seems like an impossibility. She is performing in her dream roles…the ones she has practiced, dreamed about, and fantasized about since she was a little girl. Woo-hoo! And yet, Julie has struggled to enjoy it. She can’t even smile because of some issue at a molecular level. 😜

Julie’s experience is more common than not. When we set huge, impossible goals—and then reach them, it can be overwhelming. The person who sets the goal is not the same person who achieves the goal. The growth must be physical AND mental. Sadly, we often ignore the mental aspect.

The way you think about yourself and your abilities now cannot be the same thinking patterns when you reach massive goals. It just doesn’t work. You may reach your goal, but you won’t enjoy it. Sad, right?

So what can you do? You can start by asking yourself how would a person who did (enter goal here) think? How would that person act? Then start practicing those thoughts and doing those actions. Even if it feels weird at first, keep practicing. The changes you are wanting WILL happen.

In contrast , if your thinking remains the same, you will find that you set little, easy-to-achieve goals that don’t stretch you much. That’s fine…but it’s not awesome. And awesome is way more fun than fine in the end.

This week has been a better one for Julie. She is less stressed and more excited. Her thinking has finally caught up with all her physical abilities. And her opportunity to dance in her dream roles really is perfect.