Maintaining Success
Study Session 002: Foxes in the Garden
Welcome back to Study Hall!
Let's set the scene for today.
(Photo found on Pinterest)
Imagine our Study Hall group meeting here, all with coffee, tea, or whatever favorite beverage you have in hand. Bring whatever you are currently studying and let's share our goals and what we have accomplished this week in meeting them/whatever is on our hearts to share.
I’ll go first.
I have been struggling to deep dive in my language studies and in my studies for my book that I want to write. And I had to start asking myself “why”?
I want to accomplish more and do more, I want to have goals and be able to achieve them, so what’s blocking me? And it dawned on me that I have foxes in my garden.
(Photo found on Pinterest)
Here’s my question for today:
What foxes do you have lurking in your garden of success?
Think about a fox coming into your yard and stealing your chickens. It's cunning and it's sneaky and oftentimes you don’t even realize that it's living nearby until it's too late and all your chickens are gone. But instead of these foxes stealing chickens they are stealing your success, your dreams, your ambition, and draining you of your drive to keep going.
So how can we recognize our foxes before it's too late and how do we keep them out of our gardens for good?
I’ve had many foxes come into the garden of my mind and heart over the years and some that like to camp just outside the borders waiting for their moment to pounce, their silhouettes taunting me threatening to come inside…Sneaky little devils.
So what qualifies something as a fox? In my words, pretty much anything that steals your ability to do what you need to do.
I’ve had many different foxes in my garden but here are some that have recently been threatening me.
Anxiety, the Lurking Fox
I know that anxiety looks different for everyone but for me when I feel anxious I have a hard time accomplishing even basic tasks. Forget getting cozy and finally reading that book I've been meaning to finish. When I feel anxious I can't sit still and forget about disappearing in a book or tv show. All I can think about is what's bothering me, what I feel anxious about and sometimes I don't even know the root of my anxiety.
One thing I have learned about anxiety over the years is that it is a thief and a fox. It steals my ability to learn and grow and robs from me my ability to achieve my goals when I want to. It comes in when I least expect it sitting like a heaviness on my chest.
Recognizing that anxiety is a thief of my success has helped me be able to control it better and keep it at bay. Even when that sneaky guy tries to break through the gates of my heart and ruin my ability to do my work I recognize the signs and turn my attention to keeping it manageable.
Distraction, the Glitzy Fox vs. Procrastination, the “Important” Fox
Distraction is like procrastination but instead of purposely doing something else in order to put off what you really need to do, distraction isn't on purpose. Everyone wants to achieve their dreams but sometimes you can fall into distraction; on the outside it seems like a glitzy good thing but it isn’t something that is helping you towards your goals. Whereas procrastination is on purpose and normally used to get you out of something you don’t want to do but is important.
I think I am one of the biggest procrastinators. I was the student that didn’t read the book for the book report due until the night before when there was no time to possibly read it all, so instead I read all the first chapter, the last chapter, and all the chapter titles in between (there’s a free procrastination hack for you).
When I don’t want to do something, everything else suddenly seems more important. Here’s an example, the day that I decided I would take my car in for its inspection suddenly was the day I “had” to decorate my house for fall, do my laundry, wash the pile of dishes in the sink, and clean my room….Yeah those are all “important” things, but what was more important was getting my car inspected…I just didn’t want to do it. Procrastination is the reason why I am sitting here writing this article the day before it’s supposed to go up. Procrastination isn’t inherently bad if you still do what you’re supposed to do, but you aren’t always able to do your best.
It's a very sneaky fox.
Comfort zone, the Cozy Fox
Someone once told me that to grow you have to step outside of your comfort zone and to do that you have to feel uncomfortable for a time. That can be a very hard concept for someone that loves to be comfortable. If you are someone that always follows the same routine day after day only ever putting forth the same amount of effort but not seeing growth then likely you need to step outside your comfort zone to see change.
The comfort zone is a cozy fox.
It's also the safe fox; when you're in your comfort zone you feel safe and secure and it's easy to want to stay there, but if you want to see growth in your life you have to be willing to try new things and even fail. Failure, as hard as it is, helps you grow and it is an uncomfortable necessary evil to growth. If you just became a writer on Substack then you should be proud of yourself because you took a step outside your comfort zone to be here, you fought the cozy fox and won but don't stop fighting it; the cozy fox likes to return when we get complacent.
Time to set the Traps
One concept that has helped me in overcoming foxes and growing is the four stages of learning applied to making a permanent healthy change in your life.
Stage 1:
You don’t know that you don’t know.
In this stage you don’t even know that you have a problem or area that you need to work on. I’d also call it the oblivious stage. You don’t even know that your foxes exist at this point.
Stage 2:
You know that you don’t know.
In stage 2 you know that you have an issue or problem “foxes” but you don’t know what it is yet—just that it's there. It’s at this stage that you might start researching or seeking advice to try and figure it out. You have to give yourself a lot of time and grace in this stage because it can get frustrating knowing that something is wrong but not knowing what it is.
Stage 3:
You don’t know that you know.
At this point you have your foxes figured out or whatever you're trying to learn in but it's not second nature to you. You might struggle in this stage with slipping back into old patterns and have to constantly be aware that those foxes are there needing to be caught. I am currently in this stage trying to work my way out.
Stage 4:
You know that you know.
This is the final stage of learning where what you know has become second nature to you. At this stage you have achieved a permanent change in your life. You could say that you have made a habit at this point. Those pesky foxes won't be coming anytime soon. And even if they do you know how to handle them without batting an eye.
Final Thoughts,
My hope for this article is that it will inspire you to seek out the foxes that are blocking you from achieving your goals and dreams. And if you have already done that then I hope it will just encourage you to keep them out and get to stage 4 so they don’t come back. This week I want to start making easy study goals for myself that can become habits. Let's keep those foxes away together!
As always, I want to be a source of encouragement.
Thank you for joining me in this session of Study Hall. See you next week!
Cheers, ✨
Robin
Important: This post is for informational and educational purposes only. This post should not be taken as [legal, financial, medical, therapy, etc.] advice or used as a substitute for such. You should consult your own [doctor, lawyer, CPA, therapist, etc.]