Keeping the Momentum
Keeping the Momentum
And then – there are other moments when we find ourselves dealing with the fear of - - success! I have experienced this a few times in my own life. Once, in my mid twenties I was building a very successful name in my clothing design and had a gentleman from Australia make me a really exciting offer – which I promptly refused for a myriad of reasons that came streaming from my heart, mind and mouth! He looked at me like I had just declared war, or some other horrid unsavory act, and responded that it was clearly evident that I was afraid of success. I could understand being afraid of failure – but success? That just didn’t register in my head at that time. I look back in life and see a few other times when I put myself out there – expecting success and for some reason – pulled myself back.
The most recent event occurred with the submission of a chapter for a book I am co-authoring with three amazing celebrity authors. I was excited enough to say, “Yes” to the offer, complete the chapter and the required interview questions and quickly dusted off my hands, and put it to sleep – until the day of my interview! I was suddenly feeling very anxious about the whole thing and not really understanding why. After all, I had already completed the work and a bit of minor editing here and there was all that would be left. Taking myself off to a quiet place, I remembered Colin’s admonishment some twenty years prior that I was afraid of success and finally understood! I was looking at a potentially significant change in my life and my career and had not yet wrapped myself around all the emotional or actual aspects of that change.
This time, however, I will respond to the opportunity differently - because I now know that success builds success, and I can handle whatever comes from this newest opportunity. I now understand the elements of being accountable and finding pride in completion. I get excited with the primary reward of a job well-done, that being the privilege of setting a new goal and accepting a new challenge! So, what sage advice can I provide you to help you when you find yourself with too many unfinished projects dragging down your energy? What can I do to help you keep your momentum?
1. Nothing has so great an impact as action! Whether you decide to simply make a list of what has to be completed, or make an assessment of which should take priority – become engaged in the commitment to completion.
2. Touch base with your feelings and determine why you set a project aside. Once you understand that you will be armed with the resources to modify your thinking and your behavior. Ask the tough questions:
a. Did I just get bored and disinterested? If so, is there anything that can revive my original excitement? If not, am I best to just scratch this off the list and remove any sense of guilt about it being nothing more than a passing interest?
b. If I lacked confidence or skills, what must I do to modify that? Do I need additional training or just a long talk with someone who can help me see that I am capable and help rebuild my belief in my ability?
c. Am I afraid of success or failure? If so, what will it take for me to change my thinking? If I am afraid of success is it because I am not sure how I will deal with the potential changes, or am I just unsure of what those changes will be? Am I afraid of possible sacrifices I may have to make, and if so, how can I modify my thinking to gain clarity about those sacrifices to decide they are worth the desired result?
3. Choose to optimize your time so that you may be actively engaged in a positive outcome rather than just being busy for the sake of being busy!
a. Be aware of your use of time by periodically recording your activities and reviewing how you might make adjustments that will improve how you use it.
b. Look your “time wasters” full in the face and decide how you are going to eliminate them! Can you outsource tasks that are not your best use of time? Can you create a system that helps you get through a “process” more quickly? Can you add software or technology that automates tasks?
c. Become very sensitive about things that distract you and work to remove those distractions! Can you place those emails that don’t need immediate attention into a file that you can look at during a time period that is not disrupting your highest productivity, or breaking an important focus? Can you block your time so that you do nothing but that which is listed in that block, such as phone calls or product development?
d. Develop an awareness of the value of your time and learn to ask yourself, “Is what I am doing at this very moment moving me forward to the one goal I seek to achieve?”
As always... encouraging you to engage in positive, life-altering activities that provide you with long-term, sustainable benefits.
A
Keeping the Momentum - To learn more about this author, visit Anna Weber's Website.
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It is human nature to get excited about something, dig in and make a bit of progress, then… move on to something else. But, why do we behave in this manner? Sometimes the initial excitement wanes and we get bored or simply lose interest. Other times we come face to face with a problem we seem not able to resolve and lose our confidence or move on to something that is easy or without issues.
And then – there are other moments when we find ourselves dealing with the fear of - - success! I have experienced this a few times in my own life. Once, in my mid twenties I was building a very successful name in my clothing design and had a gentleman from Australia make me a really exciting offer – which I promptly refused for a myriad of reasons that came streaming from my heart, mind and mouth! He looked at me like I had just declared war, or some other horrid unsavory act, and responded that it was clearly evident that I was afraid of success. I could understand being afraid of failure – but success? That just didn’t register in my head at that time. I look back in life and see a few other times when I put myself out there – expecting success and for some reason – pulled myself back.
The most recent event occurred with the submission of a chapter for a book I am co-authoring with three amazing celebrity authors. I was excited enough to say, “Yes” to the offer, complete the chapter and the required interview questions and quickly dusted off my hands, and put it to sleep – until the day of my interview! I was suddenly feeling very anxious about the whole thing and not really understanding why. After all, I had already completed the work and a bit of minor editing here and there was all that would be left. Taking myself off to a quiet place, I remembered Colin’s admonishment some twenty years prior that I was afraid of success and finally understood! I was looking at a potentially significant change in my life and my career and had not yet wrapped myself around all the emotional or actual aspects of that change.
This time, however, I will respond to the opportunity differently - because I now know that success builds success, and I can handle whatever comes from this newest opportunity. I now understand the elements of being accountable and finding pride in completion. I get excited with the primary reward of a job well-done, that being the privilege of setting a new goal and accepting a new challenge! So, what sage advice can I provide you to help you when you find yourself with too many unfinished projects dragging down your energy? What can I do to help you keep your momentum?
1. Nothing has so great an impact as action! Whether you decide to simply make a list of what has to be completed, or make an assessment of which should take priority – become engaged in the commitment to completion.
2. Touch base with your feelings and determine why you set a project aside. Once you understand that you will be armed with the resources to modify your thinking and your behavior. Ask the tough questions:
a. Did I just get bored and disinterested? If so, is there anything that can revive my original excitement? If not, am I best to just scratch this off the list and remove any sense of guilt about it being nothing more than a passing interest?
b. If I lacked confidence or skills, what must I do to modify that? Do I need additional training or just a long talk with someone who can help me see that I am capable and help rebuild my belief in my ability?
c. Am I afraid of success or failure? If so, what will it take for me to change my thinking? If I am afraid of success is it because I am not sure how I will deal with the potential changes, or am I just unsure of what those changes will be? Am I afraid of possible sacrifices I may have to make, and if so, how can I modify my thinking to gain clarity about those sacrifices to decide they are worth the desired result?
3. Choose to optimize your time so that you may be actively engaged in a positive outcome rather than just being busy for the sake of being busy!
a. Be aware of your use of time by periodically recording your activities and reviewing how you might make adjustments that will improve how you use it.
b. Look your “time wasters” full in the face and decide how you are going to eliminate them! Can you outsource tasks that are not your best use of time? Can you create a system that helps you get through a “process” more quickly? Can you add software or technology that automates tasks?
c. Become very sensitive about things that distract you and work to remove those distractions! Can you place those emails that don’t need immediate attention into a file that you can look at during a time period that is not disrupting your highest productivity, or breaking an important focus? Can you block your time so that you do nothing but that which is listed in that block, such as phone calls or product development?
d. Develop an awareness of the value of your time and learn to ask yourself, “Is what I am doing at this very moment moving me forward to the one goal I seek to achieve?”
As always... encouraging you to engage in positive, life-altering activities that provide you with long-term, sustainable benefits.
A
Keeping the Momentum - To learn more about this author, visit Anna Weber's Website.
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