SUCCESS
Everyone I know wants to be successful and
happy yet most of us do not
take the time to define and articulate what these mean to us. When
this happens we become the obstacle to our own success and happiness
and life literally feels like a wild goose chase.
The most common symptoms of being on a wild goose chase include being
so busy you don't have time to think; working harder and longer with
less satisfaction and fewer results; spending too much time 'zoning
out' at the end of the day watching TV just to relax; feeling tired
but unable to sleep; too much caffeine/alcohol/sugar/tobacco to either
stay alert or unwind; no time for family or friends; habitually
running late or behind schedule; constantly focusing on what's wrong
or not working in your life; and having predominantly negative
thoughts.
Well, I think I just described about 90% of the human race!! The
problem is not that we do these things; the problem is being so caught
up in our heads, in our busy-ness and the frustration of daily life
that we LOSE AWARENESS OF WHAT IS HAPPENING. And when we lose
awareness we become the victims of circumstance rather than the
creators of our life.
I'm not going to pretend here and tell you that life is a bed of roses
and that we should always have a positive mind-set. That's just plain
unrealistic and not even desirable. There is absolutely no point in
pretending about your life. If what's going on right now in your life
sucks, then putting on a brave face or being the courageous martyr
serves no-one and only depletes you of energy.
This may sound contrary to what a lot of motivational texts say - the
one that encourages us to 'fake it till we make it.' Well, I don't
know about the rest of you but that has never worked for me and it has
never worked with any of my clients. Awareness starts with taking a
reality check. This can often be painful but how are you ever going to
make things better if you don't know what you are fighting against?
The key to a successful battle is knowing your enemy intimately. In
this case, the enemy is the thoughts, behaviours and actions you have
taken UP UNTIL NOW that have given you the results you are now
enjoying - or not enjoying as the case may be. This is good news; in
fact it's great news! It's great news because if you understand this
one point - the point that says your past actions have produced your
current results - you are free to change your life by changing your
actions.
But before you can change your actions you need to stop what you are
doing and THINK; you need to reflect on what is important to you and
what is in your heart. Don't expect the answers to jump out at you
immediately. Most of us have spent the majority of our lives chasing
dreams that mean nothing to us or living according to someone else's
expectations that our true feelings and hearts' desire are buried
beneath layers of habitual and conditioned behaviours.
The first step is always this: take an inventory of where you are NOW.
Next, identify what works and what isn't working in your life and
decide which things you want to continue doing and which you want to
take off your plate. Be ruthless and above all, be honest with
yourself. We are talking about your life here, not someone else's.
Then, and only then are you ready to start exploring what success and
happiness might mean for you.
- From Transformational Tools
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to
man as it is: Infinite. - William Blake
take the time to define and articulate what these mean to us. When
this happens we become the obstacle to our own success and happiness
and life literally feels like a wild goose chase.
The most common symptoms of being on a wild goose chase include being
so busy you don't have time to think; working harder and longer with
less satisfaction and fewer results; spending too much time 'zoning
out' at the end of the day watching TV just to relax; feeling tired
but unable to sleep; too much caffeine/alcohol/sugar/tobacco to either
stay alert or unwind; no time for family or friends; habitually
running late or behind schedule; constantly focusing on what's wrong
or not working in your life; and having predominantly negative
thoughts.
Well, I think I just described about 90% of the human race!! The
problem is not that we do these things; the problem is being so caught
up in our heads, in our busy-ness and the frustration of daily life
that we LOSE AWARENESS OF WHAT IS HAPPENING. And when we lose
awareness we become the victims of circumstance rather than the
creators of our life.
I'm not going to pretend here and tell you that life is a bed of roses
and that we should always have a positive mind-set. That's just plain
unrealistic and not even desirable. There is absolutely no point in
pretending about your life. If what's going on right now in your life
sucks, then putting on a brave face or being the courageous martyr
serves no-one and only depletes you of energy.
This may sound contrary to what a lot of motivational texts say - the
one that encourages us to 'fake it till we make it.' Well, I don't
know about the rest of you but that has never worked for me and it has
never worked with any of my clients. Awareness starts with taking a
reality check. This can often be painful but how are you ever going to
make things better if you don't know what you are fighting against?
The key to a successful battle is knowing your enemy intimately. In
this case, the enemy is the thoughts, behaviours and actions you have
taken UP UNTIL NOW that have given you the results you are now
enjoying - or not enjoying as the case may be. This is good news; in
fact it's great news! It's great news because if you understand this
one point - the point that says your past actions have produced your
current results - you are free to change your life by changing your
actions.
But before you can change your actions you need to stop what you are
doing and THINK; you need to reflect on what is important to you and
what is in your heart. Don't expect the answers to jump out at you
immediately. Most of us have spent the majority of our lives chasing
dreams that mean nothing to us or living according to someone else's
expectations that our true feelings and hearts' desire are buried
beneath layers of habitual and conditioned behaviours.
The first step is always this: take an inventory of where you are NOW.
Next, identify what works and what isn't working in your life and
decide which things you want to continue doing and which you want to
take off your plate. Be ruthless and above all, be honest with
yourself. We are talking about your life here, not someone else's.
Then, and only then are you ready to start exploring what success and
happiness might mean for you.
- From Transformational Tools
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to
man as it is: Infinite. - William Blake
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