It was fourteen days ago that I decided to take control of the brain fog I was struggling with for the last couple of months. It all started the day I woke up with a sore throat and chills through out the day. My mind just didn’t seem to be able to think clearly.

A few days later both my fiance and I came down with the longest flu we’ve ever had. We felt exhausted for ten days and had very mild symptoms of feeling feverish, brain fog and chest tightness. We had just started to see cases of COVID-19 here in Vancouver and when I read about the symptoms online I was fairly certain we had the virus, so we went into quarantine. There were days that I thought I felt better only to feel much worse the next morning. The unpredictability began to create increased anxiety for me as I didn’t know how much worse it would get. My partner ended up getting tested and her results were negative but they told us the results may not be reliable if our symptoms are mild. We continued to monitor ourselves at home.

About ten days later even though we both felt much better, my brain fog was still there. I searched online and found that one of the symptoms of anxiety is brain fog. That’s when I decided to take action. I set the goal to write 20 articles in 20 days to challenge myself to formulate logical thoughts and analysis. I wrote my first article on April 13th and this is my last one. I am proud of having stuck with it all the way to the end. I almost didn’t write this last article, thinking I came far enough and maybe I can cut myself some slack. But then another part of me refused to give up and convinced me to sit down at my desk and write the last article.

Often challenging goals that stretch you and make you step outside of your comfort zone create an inner struggle between wanting to give up and then staying the course. The first ten articles pushed me to my limits as my clouded mind struggled to think of things to write about or ideas to share. But my body did the work of getting up every morning and sitting behind the desk until I had written 500-700 words.

Once I got into a routine, the words started to come easier and faster and I was enjoying the process more. My brain fog lifted. At this point I had 16 articles and I was so close to reaching the goal. Even though I was tempted to stop, I decided to keep pushing.

Reaching goals, reaching success isn’t easy. It takes a lot of practice, a lot of willpower, and self-control. In her book Grit, Angela Duckworth interviewed Rowdy Gaines who is an American former competitive swimmer, U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame member, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Dr. Duckworth asked Gaines if he loved practicing. He said, “I’m not going to lie, I never really enjoyed going to practice, and I certainly didn’t enjoy it while I was there. In fact, there were brief moments walking to the pool at four or four-thirty in the morning, or sometimes when I couldn’t take the pain, when I’d think, ‘God, is this worth it?’”

Call me a masochist but with all the discomfort and suffering that these focused practices create, they are addictive. When you see progress and improvement and when you achieve the little milestones you get a boost of motivation, encouragement, and drive that pushes you forward. When you look back you can see how far you’ve come and how much your efforts have played a part in placing you where you are now.

Now that I have fully achieved my first goal, I am taking a couple of days off before creating a new goal, perhaps a more challenging one to keep my mind sharp and focused during these uncertain times. What have you been working on lately?

We all have those memories that have stuck with us no matter how many years have gone by – ones that we revisit once in a while and reflect on the lesson learned. One of my memories goes back to the year 2000, when I went to see my grade 12 math teacher the morning before my final diploma exam to ask him a math question. The mark I would get on this single exam would be worth 50% of my entire math 12 mark. It was a big deal but I had spent so much time preparing that I felt confident. After he answered my question he asked, “how do you feel? Are you ready for it?” I calmly and confidently responded, “yeah, I’m aiming to get a 100%.” I am now very familiar with the awkward silences people give you when they think you’ve said something ridiculous. But on that morning I was so sure of my preparedness for this final test that I didn’t have any doubt I knew absolutely everything they could throw at me. I felt calm and tried to stay away from the kids sitting in the cafeteria cramming and telling each other how nervous they were. I needed to keep my state of mind. I didn’t end up getting 100%, but I got 98%. You know how they say shoot for the moon so if you fall, you’ll land on the stars? Although I didn’t get my 100% I was quite proud of myself for how close I came to my goal. This memory has stayed with me until now because it taught me a few important life lessons:

Prepare prepare prepare

I had started preparing two months in advance and spent hours studying, doing sample questions, going over the entire textbook, and completing sample tests while timing myself. I had prepared for this exam like an athlete trains for their event. I have learned that by preparing fully and completely for a big event my confidence comes naturally and my nerves are at ease on the day. I used this lesson in 2018 to prepare to give my first TED talk. I practiced so much that I was able to rehearse with ease and comfort in any environment – while walking my dog, in a busy park, or running on the treadmill.

You must have 100% faith in yourself

If I didn’t have all the faith in myself and my skills my teacher’s silence after I told him how high I was aiming could have created doubts in my mind. Once you’ve done all the preparation and training, it’s time to put all the self-doubt aside and have complete faith that you are bound to be successful. This way, it won’t matter what others say or think your inner state will remain confident and reassured.

Don’t focus on the outcome

Even though I set a goal to get 100% on the math exam, once I set the goal I stopped thinking about it. The goal gave me the destination I wanted to reach and the rest of the focus was in my training and preparation. Paying attention to improving skills, habits, and strategies are what will get you to your goal. Too often goal setting fails to give concrete results because we are too focused on the outcome and since it is a far away destination from where we currently are, we feel overwhelmed and give up.

Every event and encounter can teach us something valuable about life and living. The key is to pay attention to not miss these wisdom nuggets we can use for our growth and development.