Most People Do This And It’s Killing Them
I should have invested earlier.I should be further along on this project than I am.I should known an emergency might happen.
Have you heard yourself talk like this before?
It’s known as “shoulding all over yourself.”Unless there is a lesson you can learn and apply to the future, this kind of thinking is useless.In fact, it’s counter productive.It pulls your valuable attention away from the reality of where you are right now (and what you CAN do) and puts it on what you cannot change.There is a 0% ROI on ruminating.
It’s normal to have this thought pattern, so it’s okay.
It’s your job to catch this and make the adjustment, regulate, and choose to put your attention somewhere more useful.It’s not a light switch. Be patient. It’s one of those things that just takes a lifetime to master.Hang in there.Do your best with what you have, where you are.
2 Minute Action
Name 3 things you haven’t let go of or things you haven’t forgiven yourself for.You can also just name some things that are on your “worry list” that don’t really need to be because there’s not much you can control about them.Pick one and take 2 minutes to focus only on that and let yourself off the hook.Feels kinda good to be nice to yourself, right?This will come up again later, so be patient with yourself as you build this habit.
What You Can Do When There's Too Much To Do
There isn't enough time to do everything you want to do before you die.Let's face it.There just isn't.In fact, the same thing is true about your work.There just isn't enough time to do everything.
So let's crush a few thoughts, right now.
- "I have to do it."
- "It needs to get done."
- "No one else is going to do it."
These may be true, but a good question to ask yourself next is "what will happen if I don't get it all done?"
Does it really matter?
Understand that productivity and living a happy, healthy life isn't about doing more.It's just about output.Focus on the 20% of the things that will yield 80% of the results.Stop thinking that hard work is always the answer. It only turns results SOME of the time.If you were a youth with a paper route and you knew you could get paid $200 every week, it might seem like adding more paper routes would be the only way to make more money.But what if you found out that delivering mail pulled in $300 every week?Well, you just learned that not every hour you spend working is worth the same.
Of course, you've got to put in work, but not every hour worked is created equal.
Remember the character "Boxer" from Orwell's Animal Farm?He was a horse and every time he was faced with a problem, the solution was "I'll just work harder."Boxer ended up broken and worn out, causing him to be useless to the farmer.So the skill isn't to work harder, longer hours, or produce more widgets.The skill is determining what you SHOULDN'T be doing.The skill is determining all the things you're wasting your time doing because they aren't delivering amazing results.The skill is saying "no" to all of those things that aren't important.
2 Minute Action
Look at your to-do list today.Everything should fight for its life to stay on that list.Right now, kill one thing on that list. I'm not saying wait until tomorrow to do it.I really mean kill it. That's it. See ya later.Bye bye forever.Hard, right?Do it anyway.
The Secret To Unbounded Confidence
As I’m writing this, I’m exhausted.I’m jet lagged, I’ve been traveling all day and all I want to do is sleep.I’d be lying if I said I was super pumped to write something inspiring and motivating today.
Today just isn’t one of those days.
But this is it!These are the days that matter the most because they ask you to match your behavior with your intentions.
And your actions determine the relationship you build with yourself.
Either you teach yourself that you’re a person who keeps his/her word or you’re a person who goes back on it all the time.It’s not just about making it happen today, it’s about building trust with yourself.This is the secret to confidence.Your relationship with yourself.
2 Minute Action
Whats something you’re dreading doing today?Make it the first thing you do.Do this everyday and you will build a relationship of trust and confidence with yourself.If you don’t, the opposite will be true.