Stop Sabotage
It may not be obvious to everyone . . . . but success doesn’t come as easily as you have been led to believe. It takes hard work and perseverance if you are going to make it in life. Success principles may be scientific and simple, they are not that easy to implement effectively without the proper guidance. Do you agree with this: To be truly successful, you should take a direct path to your goals. Commit yourself and get so focused on where you’re going that you develop laser vision. Be so intent on reaching your goals that they become all consuming and you are distracted by nothing else. Everything you do must be towards that end, right???
No! That’s NOT right!
Well ok its partly right. You see to reach all you goals and dreams you must care about what you want…but not that much!!! See I told you it was simple but not easy!!! How do you care about your goal…but not that much? Over the years I’ve come to realize that abject ambition can become self-defeating and actually sabotage your success if you are too attached to the outcome. If you begin to feel burned out, mentally and physically, or both, then there comes a time where you have to ask, “Is my need to succeed in life coming at too high a cost?”
You don’t want your life goals standing in the way of your own personal happiness, you can avoid that by changing some basic habits:
- No Social Comparisons – You cannot spend time always comparing yourself to others. It’s a no-win situation. You will always find friends and associates on Facebook or LinkedIn who seem to be getting ahead faster than you, always taking trips and getting promoted. If you dwell on this you will feel you’re being left behind and this is discouraging and self-defeating. What you can do is acknowledge others, be proud and genuinely happy for others who seem to be fulfilling their dreams. Success breeds success so you will want to associate with successful people, but at the same time your success is measured by how well you have done compared to how well you could have done, not compared to how well others have done!
- Stop Multitasking – You may be thinking what the hell Glen, to be successful I have to juggle so many balls…how else can I get ahead??? Think about how many times you have caught yourself doing something on your iPhone, a pad of paper, and your laptop all at the same time. And each of those things you were doing was totally separate from each other!!! Did you really accomplish anything??? It doesn’t matter how skilled you are at doing multiple things at once, you are far more productive when you are focused on one thing at a time. If you’re jumping ahead trying to do everything at once in order to save time you may be self-sabotaging. You can actually accomplish more by building momentum on one task at a time, and completing it before you move on to something else.
- Get Lots Of Sleep – We’ve all heard amazing stories of super successful people who only need 3 – 4 hours of sleep at night. All of this is totally overrated and bragging about only needing 4 hours of sleep a night is ridiculous. No matter how late you’re working, if you aren’t productive and actually getting things done, it’s a waste. Don’t confuse activity with accomplishment. If you awaken every morning exhausted you will be sluggish and unable to do anything worthwhile, much less be productive. You need sleep to rejuvenate your mind and body so that you can be refreshed and able to take on the challenges of the day. The science is pretty clear, getting eight hours of sleep is absolutely essential for you to perform at your best. When you hit the pillow at night plan on a good long sleep and let go of the stresses of the day.
- Nurture Personal Relationships – I understand that when you’re passionate and excited about your life your motivation can become all consuming. It’s easy to take your loved ones for granted, you forget how important it is to nurture those relationships. All relationships do take time and effort. There has to be good communication and a commitment to nurture your relationships. If all your time and effort is being directed towards your life goals, where does that leave you personally? What kind of a relationship are you building with your computer? You don’t want to discover one day that the most important people in your life have moved on without you because you just didn’t pay them any attention.
In Summary
Take time to “turn off your brain” and stop trying to solve the problems of the world and instead pay closer attention to what is going on with the people who really count, your family and friends. These relationships will sustain you through thick and thin. In thinking about your desire to become “numero uno” in your chosen life path, you’ve got to keep in mind that this is just one aspect of your life. Whatever you are trying to achieve can be put on hold from time to time, even for a day or two. Think about the bigger picture and keep things in perspective. Don’t be self-sabotaging by having your life goals become all- consuming.
Remember…Care, but not that much!
