"An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises" Mae West
I spent my Saturday night with a glass of wine, some good tunes (check out iTunes ambient radio, it's one of my favorites) and my bookkeeping. Sounds like a boring evening doesn't it. Well, in fact, I actually look forward to these types of dates with myself.
You're probably thinking - "this woman is dreadfully boring and has got to get a life!" I acknowledge that it may not sound like the finest of times but the high that I was left with confirmed to me that my choice to opt out of a movie and stay up until after midnight to get this task completed was the right one.
Let me explain a little bit. I know that deep down this will resonate with you if you've ever found yourself experiencing the wretched feeling of guilt, anguish or overwhelm with having too much on your plate.
There is something magical about the idea of completion. It wraps things up for you. Completion acts an emotional signpost freeing up tons of energy and it allows you to expand and take on new endeavors with confidence and clarity. It makes you feel reeeeeally good.
This one activity is so freeing that I tend to keep an action list for all of the things that need to be completed - and that way I rarely find myself feeling under pressure or stressed out. I schedule dates here and there throughout the year and dedicate a date to have items completed by.
Let me expand on this concept a bit more.
Whenever we take any project on or agree to do something with or for someone there are five stages.
- Chosing
- Starting
- Continuing to do it
- Finishing it
- Acknowledging that it is complete
The most fascinating part is you can get twisted up on any one of those steps, in any situation.
Some people get stuck right off the bat by not choosing at all. (This is where a lot of my clients sit on deeply important choices). They come to me because they are afraid about making the "wrong" choice and so they remain in a static place - feeling confused. I meet so many people who have been struggling for years and who are in the exact same place because of this one stage alone.
Some people chose things and plan them but never actually do them. Some people start things but don't continue. Or they continue but they don't actually complete the task or create deadlines. Or some people finish and they never congratulate themselves and say they did it - they just keep motoring until they find themselves burnt out.
When you don't complete things you end up with attention units that aren't available to you. Scientifically speaking, you only have so much space allotted in your brain which is dedicated to focusing on a certain amount of tasks.
So, if you tell Joe you'll meet him for coffee, you tell Sara you'll call her for a follow up meeting, you tell your spouse you'll complete a task, you tell yourself you'll sort through the basement. And, on top of it you have a garage to organize, a closet to sort through, stains on the rug that need to be cleaned and you need to get to the gym and then file all of your financials. All of these things are taking your attention. And, essentially, they are taking up space in your brain. And, because you haven't dealt with them you find yourself getting down on yourself and feeling overwhelmed. Most importantly however, it leaves less room for other new and inspiring tasks.
So, you want to clean up the gunk. Complete the tasks.
Just do what it takes to get it done.
And, if you decide that a task is no longer on your priority list - get clear and disengage yourself from it by purposefully de-committing yourself from it - take it off your plate, delegate it, call the person and let them know you won't be following through with your word.
When you're working towards completion, set an end date or a target. Don't take on any new tasks until or move on until you have completed your current projects.
When you complete your list of incompletes and clean up environmental and emotional messes, I assure you it will give you a natural high. And, it's my personal guarantee you'll feel increased self esteem and energy, and have more clarity with you thoughts.
Committing to completion will give you the ability to take on more and the yummiest part is that it increases your coping mechanism to take on other opportunities that excite you.
Your Assignment:
- Make a list of all of your current incompletes or messes?
- Write down how not completing it affect and cost you?
- What is the benefit of cleaning it up?
- Who could you delegate all or part of the clean-up to?
- When will you ask them?
- When do you commit to being complete by?
Now, if you're finding yourself feeling confused, stuck or struggling, without results and aren't sure of what to do or where to start, and are feeling ready for some definite long lasting changes in your life, then we've got to change that ASAP.
About this Author
Jackie has been a successful entrepreneur since 2002. She completed more education hours than needed in massage therapy and filled her massage practice in less than a year. That same year she trained and became certified as a Stott Pilates Instructor and a faculty member of The Foothills College of Massage Therapy. Her keen curiosities for the mind body connection lead her to deepen her learning with Bowen Therapy, Neurolinguistic Programming and Co-active coaching.
Jackie is the founder of Your New Face of Success. She currently uses her life to support professionals who are struggling with feeling "stuck in a rut". As a result, clients re-connect back to themselves, re-evaluate priorities, and then re-orient their path towards taking actions and creating positive changes they so deeply desire. She has a white hot desire to help other professionals experience true freedom on the inside and outside.
Whether focused on career success, career transition, stress and anxiety management, physical health or balanced well-being, Jackie coaches you to arrive at a new level of mastery, success, joy and balance.
Jackie's signature style combines a mix of stimulating and thought provoking questions, mind/body release techniques, assessment tools, accountability and support, with her own personal and business expertise to give her clients satisfying results in the time that works for them.
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