Want to get more done? Ditch the distractions!
Email, voicemail, instant messenger, texting…even tidying up your office is a distraction in disguise.
What is it disguised as? Productivity.
Fingers moving, talk-talking, chaos miraculously transformed into the height of productive neatness. More items checked off your 8-mile long to-do list.
The problem? Most of it is unimportant busy work.
Why would we fill our days with useless busy work when the stuff that would move us forward gets left undone?
Yep!
Read my Original Post from Escaping Mediocrity: 30 Days to Change your Game
Sabotage? Who ME?
Ever catch yourself in the single most dangerous lie game-changers face? It goes something like this: I am ready (and willing) to step into my success (or own my true potential…yadda, yadda, yadda).
<INSERT YOUR VERSION OF THE LIE HERE>
Whenever I am ready to take a huge step forward in my business, or in my personal life, that little inner voice starts with the quiet whispers:
“Who do you think you are to be doing this?”
“What are you doing, you have absolutely no idea how to do that?”
“Boy are you going to look like an idiot when you fail!”
Who invited this JERK into your headspace anyway?
Um…that would be you!
And you better believe that as soon as I start down that path, that voice gets louder and the whisper becomes a scream! I want to sleep in, clean my office, get sick, run over by a bus…anything to not face what I fear the most: success.
Huh?
It shocked me to the core when I learned that people fear raving success as much as they fear dismal failure. Put another way: we’re most comfortable right in the middle – not too happy, not too sad, but just right.
Mediocrity.
We get too close to the bottom, we pull up our socks and get back to that happy middle ground. But get too close to the top and we call in sick, check out, sabotage. The worst part is the closer to the top, the greater the resistance.
Whatever you do, DON’T LOOK DOWN!
Everyone has what I call their Holy Shit moment. Even if you’ve played it pretty safe, there’s that one time when for some reason or another you did something way out of your comfort zone.
For me, it was the first double black diamond run I attempted on telemark skis (as a so-so blue run skier).
Friends suggested it saying it would have a hidden pocket of powder because getting to it required a long traverse. The assurances that “It will be no problem” quickly faded to an “Oh, this is steeper than I remember.”
HOLY SHIT! How did I get here and how am I going to get out of it?
Note: The thing about Holy Shit moments is there is only one way out: straight down! That’s what makes it a true Holy Shit moment.
Conquering your Inner Critic
#1: Breathe (and for god sakes don’t look down)!
#2: Focus – Channel your inner Zen master and seek the one thing that will move you forward.
#3: Think back to your Holy Shit moment and know that you have the power to do ANYTHING (even if it scares the shit out of you)!
#4: ACT – Even if you feel like kicking and screaming, take one step forward. (Not a cheat step where you spend a day feigning work “organizing your office” or other busy work, but an actual step forward!)
The Game Changer Rule: if you aren’t feeling the urge to flee, you are sandbagging. Try harder.
Game Changer Challenge
Think about your Holy Shit moment. If you have a bunch, pick one – you daredevil. Write down what you can take from the moment – important lessons, realizations about yourself, core values…anything you think will give you strength for what lies ahead.
Bonus points for picking one task off your game changer list that scares the shit out of you and doing it THIS week.
Want to get in on the discussion? Go to the original post at Escaping-Mediocrity: 30 Days to Change your Game and read the comments (and my replies)!
Oh…and if you’re worried about Building and Maintaining your MOMentum, tune in for our new feature column Momentum Mondays every (you guessed it) Monday!
7 Comments
Carla,
I will forever be grateful for you pointing out that going towards the “holy shit” moment is where the real bang for your buck is. (Not all the safe busy work that I surround myself in).
I will definitely tune in for MOMentum Mondays! Thank you.
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The busy work is definitely a sneaky form of self-sabotage! The best way to beat the busy work is to focus on your 1 to 3 MUST-DO tasks for each day.
Embrace your HOLY SH*T power!
My husband always talks about his “Ah ha” moment in his speaking and our coaching and find your moment. I personallly can't think (I guess haven't yet had it) my “Ah ha” moment. After reading your “Holy shit” moment I immediate thought of one point in my last year were I totally had a “Holy Shit” moment or a few I should say and it all makes sense now. Funny how a change in words and a different story makes you really see the light. Thank you! for my first article ever read on this site I have to say you have made me a follower now.
woo-HOO! I'm thrilled that the term Holy Sh*t shook something lose for you! Stay tuned for more posts on building momentum and welcome to our site!
My husband always talks about his “Ah ha” moment in his speaking and our coaching and find your moment. I personallly can’t think (I guess haven’t yet had it) my “Ah ha” moment. After reading your “Holy shit” moment I immediate thought of one point in my last year were I totally had a “Holy Shit” moment or a few I should say and it all makes sense now. Funny how a change in words and a different story makes you really see the light. Thank you! for my first article ever read on this site I have to say you have made me a follower now.
woo-HOO! I’m thrilled that the term Holy Sh*t shook something lose for you! Stay tuned for more posts on building momentum and welcome to our site!