In our new series Voices of Irish Country Magazine, we’re sharing some of the most popular columns found inside each issue of the magazine – past and present. This piece, by our resident life coach, Ariana Dunne, has been adapted from the Feb/Mar 2023 edition. Keep an eye on our website over the coming weeks for more excerpts from our brilliant writers
We are now truly into the swing of 2023. How are those new year resolutions coming along? Have you made steps towards achieving your goals and the plans you set out at the beginning of the year?
Maybe you didn’t set any goals this year and are simply just trying to get through each day. That’s OK, this column isn’t for everyone, it can be hard sometimes to stay motivated and primed to make positive changes every day. If that is you then look away now because I am going to attempt to push you, dear reader, even further out of your comfort zone by talking about challenges.
I have used this column as a platform to talk about goal setting, procrastination, motivation, hobbies, passions, wheels of life, career changes and more, but I have always been cautious about pushing you too much. However, I feel now is the time to offer you some tips on setting yourself some serious challenges as opposed to just goals.
If you have been a regular reader of my column, you will know that I have just returned from a year of travel across Europe and so for 2023, I wanted to challenge myself to do things that pushed me even further into new and exciting territories. I’m not talking about backpacking through the Amazon or trekking to the top of Everest, I’m simply talking about things that require me to “exert greater mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person’s ability”, which is the dictionary definition of “a challenge”.
Some of the challenges I am doing are as follows. A five-month Mixed Martial Arts Train Alta programme in SBG Gym. It requires me to be in the gym at 6am five days per week, learning lots of new MMA disciplines that will ultimately culminate in me fighting an opponent in a cage six days before my 41st birthday. I’ve never done MMA before, but I wanted to do something that was going to test me both physically and mentally; something that motivated me to get up early and start my day on a positive note so that I could be productive for the rest of the day. I wanted to get stronger in more ways than one. It has been challenging, there is no doubt, but it is also incredibly enjoyable and I am loving the changes to my body and my mind.
I also want to explore more of this beautiful island of ours and so I have set myself a challenge of visiting all 32 counties of Ireland this year. I was inspired to fulfil this quest after reading The Happiness of Pursuit: Find the Quest that will Bring Purpose to Your Life by Chris Guillebeau, who visited almost every country in the world by the time he was 35.
Your own quest needn’t involve travel at all, but it must have intention. Guillebeau writes, “What’s needed is commitment and progressive accomplishment, losing oneself in a task – whether it be a physical journey, an artistic enterprise or a philanthropic feat.”
Think about when is the last time you really pushed yourself? Do you often hear yourself saying things like, “I couldn’t do that” or “I’m not able for this”? If so, then maybe it’s time for you to shake off the negative beliefs that might be holding you back from greatness.
Is there a new skill you have always wanted to master? Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but life got in the way? Could you challenge yourself now and remove common obstacles from your way such as age, knowledge, ability, money, and time? Are you really too old? Can you do some research to learn more? Can you learn something new by simply giving it a go? Can you start saving some money now to afford whatever it is you want to do by this time next year? How much time do you really need and how could you make room for a new challenge in your life by removing something else that doesn’t currently serve you?
I’m also on a mission this year to encourage as many people as I can to embrace solo experiences. We don’t need to wait around for someone else to do things with us, if we want to do something, make sure it is safe and then go and do it. Whether that be solo travel, solo nights out to a gig or the theatre, solo pursuits of passion that you can forge ahead and do for yourself.
Putting your own needs first can be a challenge in itself, I know, but maybe that is the first step you need to take. You can conquer the world, or you can simply conquer your own world. Both things can be challenging but afterwards you hold the world in your hands, and what could be better than that?
Don’t miss the Sept/Oct issue of Irish Country Magazine to read more from Ariana about setting and achieving goals in the second half of the year.
