Well here we are half way through the first month of the new year.
How are you feeling? Energised and ready to tackle the world? Frustrated and confused? Or worse yet are you feeling nothing?
The last few months I’ve really had the pedal to the metal going flat out. Ive had some huge wins along the way, started a new business and have met some incredible entrepreneurial people so life should be great huh? And it is but the last couple of weeks things just didn’t feel right, my results hit a plateau and then even started to dip and my motivation bucket seem to spring a leak and things weren’t as much fun.
Now this is where the old me would have taken my bat and ball and went home, after all I’d been working hard, keeping positive and despite that everything wasn’t going entirely my way. Fortunately that old me has been left well and truly in the past and has no place in either my present or my future. So what did I do?
I stopped. Took a step back and took a look at what was going on. What was amazing how obvious the problem was as soon as I did this. I looked at my wins and then I looked at what I was doing and what I was thinking when I had those wins. Then I looked at what I was doing now tracked back to see when things started to change in terms of my results and then asked the question what was I doing differently?
It was then I realised I had completely changed the way I was operating and didn’t even know it. You see when I first started my business there wasn’t that much to do after all a brand new business doesn’t have any customers, so I put all my attention into learning how to operate my business, how to market my business what I was doing was putting most of my time into working on myself increasing my knowledge and skill sets and then putting my new found talents into action. I was like a kid in a candy store with a $100 note. I was fired up and rearing to go.
Soon things began to rock and roll, leads began to come in, I was busy with marketing my business, there were calls to make, presentation to do, follow ups to be done I was happy as a pig in mud this thing was really starting to come to life but what happened then is I got so busy working in my business I forgot about working on it and more importantly working on ME.
It has been a wonderful learning experience for me on the importance of keeping things focused and balanced and also the importance of measuring my progress and making lots of small adjustments to stay on track. You see you’ll save your self a lot of time and heartache by keeping track of where you are and continually adjusting your course in order to get where you want to go rather than going head down, bum up like a mad man and finding by the time you lift your head up for a look around that you’re miles away from where you intended to be, it’s akin to going on a road trip hitting the highway without knowing which way to go driving flat out without keeping an eye on the fuel gauge. Eventually you’ll run out of juice and have no idea where you are.
I make it a habit these days of when things don’t go quite right to ask myself what good can I take away from this experience and what did I learn and as a result I have put together my 7 Tips for staying on track
- GRATITUDE
Every morning before you start your day take 5 minutes to give thanks for all the great things and people you have in your life. This will keep you focused on what’s right and help you stay way from negative thinking.
- MEASURE AND CHANGE
At the end of each week step back and take a look at your results. Take stock of what was good and also what was not so good then try and figure out what action or actions cause that outcome. If the result was good do more of whatever you did to get that result, if it was bad then stop or change whatever you did that gave you that result.
- CELEBRATE
Celebrate your wins no matter how big or small, every action that moves you closer to your desires is a win, making one more phone call when you don’t feel like it is a win, working 10 more minutes to finish of that paperwork before you go home is a win. Make it a habit to celebrate all of your wins even the not so obvious this will make you feel fantastic and show you that you're are making progress even when on the surface it doesn’t look like it. Remember that you’re not alone in this even if you are running what you think is a one person show, your family are also making sacrifices when you are working late into the night they are missing out on spending time with you so make sure to include them in the celebrations and tell them how much you appreciate their support and love. Making time for them in your life is just as important as making your next sale or presentation so schedule in a few hours or an afternoon once a week to celebrate with them, have fun and leave your work behind. If you can swing it try and take a weekend off once a month just for them and you.
- GOALS
It’s been said that a millionaire looks at their goals once a day but a billionaire looks at theirs twice a day. If you haven’t got your goals written down somewhere you can see them everyday then it’s over before it starts. Write them down and read them everyday.
- VISUALISE
The mind can not tell the difference between real and imaginary events, through constant visualisation of how you want your life to be your brain will accept it as already being a done deal, This can be done in conjunction with your morning Gratitude session to really get your day off to a rocking start. Find a quiet place, close your eyes and see yourself being the person you want to be, doing the things you want to do, having the things you want to have. See the day your about to start going exactly as you want it to. This will have you absolutely vibrating with positive energy and ready to take on whatever comes your way.
- DREAMBUILD
This takes visualisation to a whole new level, get out there and touch, feel, smell and taste the life you want to live. Find your dream home and go visit it. Builders display villages are fantastic for this. Go and sit in the kitchen, let your kids fight over which room they want, go and sit in the study and return a business call. Hit the car dealership and test drive the car you want, go and spend a weekend in the town you want to live in.
- GET TO KNOW YOUR FUTURE SELF
This is a concept I only learnt recently and is extremely powerful. As you start to visualise your future on a regular basis you will wee a version of your self living the life you now dream of, a more confident, successful and powerful version of you. This is your Future Self. Get to know this person and when it comes time to make decisions ask your self “what would my future self do?”make time to talk to him or her often and you will soon see that you are your own best adviser and role model.
Just remember success isn’t meant to be easy otherwise everyone would achieve it. Welcome your failures and challenges learn from them and grow from them. The law of attraction will always bring to you what you most focus on so being grateful and focusing on what is good will bring you more of the same but also know that the same law of attraction will also attract it’s adverse as balance. Take these challenges and adversities as a sign you are on track and don’t let them stop you.
Have an Exceptional Week
Rob Larney
Director and Life Balance
Mentorhttp://exceptionallifebalance.com
