Can’t Keep Up? Six Ways to Take Charge of Your Results in Life and Business

Do you often find yourself suddenly realizing that a couple of hours have passed, and you are still at your desk with your carefully prepared to-do list untouched? Do you often wonder why you still haven’t got what you want from your job, your business, or your life?

Life is difficult. Occasionally we need to step back from ourselves to ask and answer a few pertinent questions to get back on track.  You can’t go back and change what’s happened, but you can decide to change your future.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

1. Stop focusing on what you don’t want, and instead focus on what you desire. Create a picture in your mind of what you really want your business or life to look like. Make it clear, positive and emotional. Then when you wake up, re-focus that clear picture in your mind. Expect it to happen. This kind of positive thinking is behind every success story you hear or read about.
2. Don’t punish yourself for your past mistakes. True, failures can feel demoralizing, but they usually are just another step along the road to success. Remember you have the power here in the present to shape your own future. Learn to let go of the feelings of past failure, and instead think of them as just ways you have learned not to do something.
3. Don’t give in to the pressures of urgency. Often what is urgent is someone else’s urgency. Instead, learn to say no to others when their neediness interferes with your own needs and desires. Giving in to someone else’s urgent needs is a sure-fire way to feel the crush of overwhelm. Sure, you can help others, but not at the expense of losing the time to help yourself achieve your own dream.
4. Quit playing it safe. Start taking some chances, beginning with being honest with yourself. So often, we waste time getting ready, just because we find ourselves getting outside our comfort zone. Let’s face it: you’ll never be completely ready, but when an opportunity appears, ignore those feelings of fear and self-doubt. Instead, seize that opportunity and run with it.
5. Don’t give in to the slow death of time-fillers. Forget cleaning out your inbox, or messaging your friends. Let Facebook updates slide. Schedule instead an hour at a time, at least three things that will move you towards your goal. Don’t allow anything to rob you of that time. Success is the reward of people who get the right things done.
6. And finally, live with an attitude of gratitude. Wake up each day, and be thankful for life. Think about what you have, and realize it is so much more than many people have.  As Maria Robinson said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

Tagged as: focus, gratitude, positive thinking, taking chances