| Life is full of paradoxes – we’ve been talking about that all week on the Daily Dish Show. Perhaps you’ve experienced a paradox yourself and said after a trip you’ve looked forward to for ages, “There’s no place like home.” You maybe hate change and yet, at the same time, are longing for it. You’re confident in one way, yet filled with doubt in another. You love connecting with others, yet yearn for solitude. We talked about how when something (reasonable – not risky!) scares us, we should face it and not avoid it. We connected the dots on how sometimes this is the very thing that could be holding us back. Yesterday, I spoke about pushing hard and going nowhere. When our EXPECTATION is that it’s going to be hard, we are met with overwhelm, fear, and most of the time, we don’t start or follow through because of our present mindset. So if you’re at a party and don’t know anyone, and you’ve already decided it’s going to be too hard to speak to strangers, then it will be, and you most likely won’t talk to anyone. Whereas, if you instead ask a question, “Where are you from?” for example, or compliment someone – “I love your blouse!” you make a connection and it’s not “about you” anymore. It’s about THEM. There is no hard push in just asking a question or complimenting someone. But this issue of pushing hard and getting nowhere is frustrating and often leads to giving up. Maybe the problem is looking for a magic pill instead of doing the work? It’s not tactics as much as it’s mindset and strategy. So, how do we get our heads in the right place? 1. Remember, hard work is hard. Teddy Roosevelt said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or doing unless it means effort, pain, or difficulty.” We don’t admire “easy lives.” 2. Hard work and a good strategy are not a tactic, but rather a way to analyze the hard work and assess what needs to be possibly changed or refined. 3. Relax a bit – we all need a day or two of rest. Hold the process in your hands lightly and be willing to change if necessary. 4. Get curious. Ask yourself, “What if … ?” I can’t tell you how often I do this myself – this is how solutions are found. 5. Focus on your “doing” (be IN IT) and not just on the goal while doing what you’re doing. The task at hand is an important part of your path. |
