OK. We have some goals. Where are we? How are we doing so far? What is the “as is” situation?
If we are having trouble with achieving your goals, then attitude and focus is as good a place as any to start. Overwhelm can stop you right in your tracks and head you straight into procrastinating.
I love quizzes, we find out so much about ourselves. Here is a short quiz that may help you identify an area where a negative attitude could be keeping you from taking charge of your life.
Answer “yes” to the statements that might describe you.
1. I get discouraged when I think about all the problems I have.
2. I often wonder why my life is not as rewarding as it could be; many people around me seem to be living more satisfying lives than I am.
3. I have trouble focusing on my goals; I’m easily distracted at work.
4. I tend to put off getting started on projects because I’m always thinking about the things that can go wrong.
Some of the above statements are pretty vague and can be indications of overwhelm. We may be thinking of too many things at once instead of breaking them up and handling them one at a time.
If you answered “yes” to any of the above statements, make a commitment to start retooling your attitude today. Read motivational books and listen to inspirational recordings. Start to associate with positive thinkers, people who have gone before you and succeeded at what you are attempting.
Remember, we can cause our own feelings; Emotion is largely a function of motion. I can solve my problems because a long time ago I realized that many times I am in fact the major cause of my own problems. Correct Posture, deep breathing, and creating quick power moves can move you forward to action many times.
Don’t let a negative attitude stand in the way of your happiness in life. Never let someone else with a negative attitude stand in your way either. And certainly, never make an important decision when you’re feeling down.
Analyze your days. Keep a log of successes or failures to take action. What preceeded each of these? We all have tendencies and habits. Are yours empowering you? Or are they disempowering you and preventing you from taking action? Check it out, make changes.
Find out for yourself, what is your best time for making decisions? What is your worst time? What is your best time for working on difficult tasks? Is there a time of day when you tend to procrastinate more? Is there a time of day when you tend to procrastinate less?
Here are two tips for improving your focus and that can help you take the first steps toward overcoming procrastination:
1. Focus on the one result you want to achieve. The more you focus on obstacles and problems, the more discouraged you’re likely to get. If you’re not getting what you want out of life, you probably suffer from a lack of focus.
Don’t focus on all the things that can go wrong. Things can always go wrong and generally you will come across some things you will have to change. Focusing on the hazards involved in trying to do something will almost always convince you to give up before you start.
This is why procrastination can be such a dangerous demon. It prevents us from focusing on our goals. Procrastinators usually focus on all the reasons not to move forward, instead of focusing on the goal they want to achieve.
2. Once you start to take some action, any action, any task, then give your complete and full attention to whatever you’re doing. Be present.
When you concentrate on the things that can go wrong, you can’t stay focused on the job you’re doing. Failure and inaction is the inevitable consequence of a lack of focus; if I think I’m going to do a bad job, I probably will-or I may never get started at all.
I’m not advising you to throw caution to the wind here, be intelligent. But every task we undertake has things that can go wrong. Simply said, it’s enough to know what the dangers are, be prepared to respond to them, and then move ahead with the project – confident in your ability to handle whatever comes up.
People who dwell on all the things that can go wrong never get anything done. Productive people have learned to focus on the available opportunities, create opportunities from problems, and concentrate on the benefits of successfully completing their projects.
Do this and true success is yours. So go for it!