By Tony Fahkry Submitted On May 26, 2017
How To Navigate Life
Given the many distractions that compete for our attention
these days, it's not surprising people don't devote more time to what truly
inspires them.
We have a habit of tuning out anything that is not urgent.
There was a time when a person was only contactable via a
phone landline, with no answering machine.
Nowadays, I can reach you through email, text messaging,
instant messaging, social media, and dare I say, call you on your mobile
device. Yet, this has not improved our lives other than make us more available.
Being more available equates to having less time to focus on
your priorities.
As a consequence, we say 'yes' to things that don't inspire
us, but provide a sense of satisfaction of having undertaken the task.
What I'm proposing is that you adopt a hell yeah attitude
towards tasks instead of, it will do for now.
The idea was first discussed by the American entrepreneur
Derek Sivers. He outlined how he prefers to engage in pursuits he is passionate
about, instead of those he's obligated to do.
"As we become more mature and enlightened adults, we
come to realize that if an opportunity is presented to us and it does not gain
a near 100-percent enthusiasm and commitment from us, then the reply must be a
100-percent no," affirms motivational author Brendon Burchard in his book The
Motivation Manifesto.
What if you were to adopt a similar approach?
You may avoid doing so because saying 'no' to good enough
projects, goals or relationships suffices to keep you motivated for the time
being.
When you settle, you compromise your self-worth because you
accept less than meaningful conditions. The basis is to move from being Parked to
an mindset of hell yeah in everything you do.
Consider author Larry Weidel's perspective in Serial
Winner: 5 Actions to Create Your Cycle of Success: "Winners know that if
you don't figure out what you want, you'll get whatever life hands you."
Time Is A Precious Commodity
When you say 'no' to requests that are low priorities, you
free up time to say 'yes' to areas that serve your highest good.
By embracing a hell yeah attitude, you focus
attention on what really matters.
It's vital to explore your full potential because in those moments
you experience deep flow states and awaken your greatest ability.
You may undertake meaningless tasks or commit to
relationships that don't inspire you because you're fearful more opportunities
will not show up later. So, you take what is available now, hoping it will
occupy your time until something better comes along.
It's what you devote your time and attention to, that
matters.
Time is a precious commodity which many people squander.
Guard it with your life and choose opportunities that inspire you, rather than
just being task-orientated.
"Position your daily actions so time is working for
instead of against you. Because time will either promote you or expose
you," writes author Jeff Olson in The Slight Edge: Secret to a
Successful Life.
Don't think you can get everything done because it's
impossible. You are likely to wash over the activities without fully committing
to the task.
The question arises, how will you know whether to undertake
a project or say 'no'?
It's as simple as this: if you don't feel a spark of
enthusiasm, it's unlikely you'll see it through to completion.
It is my experience, if something is difficult at the start
and I'm lacking motivation, the idea will not succeed because I'm not bringing
my whole self to it.
If you cannot say hell yeah, it's best say 'no'.
I assure you, adopting this frame of mind will yield success
and you needn't buy into the fear more opportunities won't become available. In
fact, more quality prospects will emerge since you are careful what you give
your attention to.
You should say 'yes' to tasks that excite you, that you are
passionate about and to which you're likely to bring your best work.
Manage Your Time
"Pareto points us in a very clear direction: the
majority of what you want will come from the minority of what you do.
Extraordinary results are disproportionately created by fewer actions than most
realize," affirm authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan in The One
Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results.
There is little room for negotiation and no grey area when
you pursue a hell yeah way of life. You commit to the task or
relationship or not at all, in which case you walk away.
Similarly, it pays to know which areas you are saying hell
yeah to. It may pose a challenge to apply this approach to every facet of
life because of competing interests.
For example, your partner may want to visit his/her
favourite restaurant and you don't feel the same way. In this scenario,
diplomacy prevails to maintain a healthy relationship.
Embracing a hell yeah outlook will change your
approach to life, in so far as developing a laser-like focus while managing
your time. You concentrate your attention on high value areas that lead to
happiness and fulfilment, with a better chance of success.
Authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan remind us once again to
choose what you give your attention to: "To achieve an extraordinary
result you must choose what matters most and give it all the time it demands.
This requires getting extremely out of balance in relation to all other work
issues... "
Given the many events that compete for your attention, it's
important to be discerning with your time.
You become inspired by your goals and projects, instead of
expecting a situation will improve as you go along - it seldom does.
Larry Weidel reminds us to maintain our enthusiasm or risk
it burning out: "When it comes to most of our ideas, our enthusiasm has a
shelf life. We won't be inspired to go for it forever. If you can't decide what
you're going to do with your energy and drive, it will peter out. Doubt will
grow and overwhelm you."
Commit to life with passion and fervour, otherwise you will
be pulled along by secondary tasks that are less desirable.
Life is too short and valuable to be pursuing goals that are
not consistent with your greater self.
No comments:
Post a Comment