Fear grows when you focus on what could go wrong.-Valorie Burton
In the wake of pursuing our goals, sometimes we get a little bug in our self-conscious that perhaps there isn’t enough time to achieve what we have envisioned. We become slaves to time and feel like we need more of it to execute our plan. The key is to become proficient in maximizing the 24 hours in a day that is already available to us.
Discipline is key to time management. You can get a lot done in a shorter time span if you are willing to prioritize your day. If it is not written down on paper and scheduled on a calendar then, it is a fantasy. Documentation is the fastest way to manifest anything.
Don’t allow the fact that you sometimes lack the answers to the problem that you want to solve, block your progress. Keep pushing and moving forward because clarity responds to action. When we place time restraints on “success” we start to feel limited and in return do nothing at all. Our vision becomes too complicated to achieve because fear teaches us that we could not possibly be able to pull off our goals before the deadline. So we wait and do nothing and get stuck in wishing that we had more time. Don’t pay homage to this school of thought. Stop it now.
Lack of clarity, not clearly understanding our purpose and not having access to the proper resources that could help us grow professionally and personally are three main reasons fear continues to show up in our life. When there isn’t a clearly defined plan, anxieties seem to always show up and throw a monkey wrench in our self-confidence.
Fear would go away if you made being prepared a habit. I understand that you have grand ideas. We all do. But before you decide to take fast action make sure you have defined a few things before moving forward.
Take a moment to coach yourself. Write out the answers to these questions on a sheet of paper.
- Why do you want to pursue the goal?
- Do you have to resources to execute the goal? What do you need to learn to achieve a goal and what investments do you need to make to shorten your learning curve?
- Who will help you achieve the goal?
- If you are launching an event, writing a book or creating a product or service, what problem are you solving. How do you plan to maximize your efforts, gain traction, and visibility for your product or service?
- Who is likely to appreciate, purchase, approve or support of your vision. Who is the customer? Why would that person want to interact with you? What experience are you creating for them?
I could go on and on with the questions, but you get the picture. Who, when, and why are questions you want to always be able to answer.
Take the time to declutter your life completely. Throw away paperwork that no longer serves you. Place the book on the self that you are no longer interested in reading. Mark action items off your list that you are not passionate about. Erase calendar events that you know that you will not attend. Say no to opportunities that are not a hell yes. Clean out your closet of clothes that you can no longer wear. Stop telling yourself you are going to lose 50 lbs when you know you are only committed to lose 15 lbs.
Clear out your mental space.
Meditate and focus your energy on engaging in opportunities that make you happy. Disconnect yourself from relationships that are draining. Decluttering your life will make room and time for you to focus on the things that are really important to you. Instead of dancing with fear you will open yourself up to a field of possibilities. Your mind will veer from lack and shift towards abundance.
Fear would cease if you established healthy expectations of what you can and can not do within a 24 hour time frame.
Fear would disappear if you just take the first step and understand that plans don’t always pan out and learn how to improvise and master that skill set.
We fail to become our best possible selves because we ignore our instincts. You can’t GO Big and Win by playing it safe and being defiant to your gut feelings. Your instincts are your truths. An inner compass that can guide you to peace and prosperity if you are bold enough to listen to it and follow through. Initially, our instincts make sense, but we ignore them because the raw truth…our feelings and desires are a little bit scary. Our instincts require us to step way outside our comfort zone if we want to make our vision a reality.
Instead of dismissing your thoughts take the time to explore them. Misery becomes second nature when we go against the grain of what make sense to us naturally. We seem to try to justify our instincts and choose an alternate path and in most cases abandon what feels right for comfort. Almost 95% of the time we fail because the plan that our instincts map out seems too simple, and we argue with the validity of the solution. As humans, we seem to favor a more complicated solution vs. an easier one. Go with the plan that is simple.
Stick to the basics…follow your first mind. It will save you from the hamster wheel of regret, doubt, and frustration. If a thought continues to show up over and over in your mind, do yourself a favor and honor it. Just make sure you take the time to explore the possibility of what could be and stop shrinking back. If you learn to ask yourself the right questions, you will notice that opportunities for you to pursue and achieve your goals are endless regardless of time. Instead of time being a restraint, it will become a vessel that you use to measure your success.
Your Business Systems Strategist
Wendy Nicole Anderson