No matter who you are or where you are on life’s spectrum there are challenges. The season of life you are in may have something to do with those challenges as well as the attitude you have can influence those challenges. Are those challenges good or bad? Maybe it is the perspective that you look at them that is good and or bad. Life is not a bowl of cherries but often has times when we are up against the wall. What do you do in those times is often what will define you. Can you use those challenges to grow and learn? Can they be used as a catalyst to make you a better person?
It is really easy to Look at your situation and complain. The woe is me syndrome. More and more research is showing that this is not good for your body. From an article which talked about complaining it stated that this negative attitude and complaining will cause “You start to find it harder to make decisions, solve problems, and understand situations realistically because everything becomes “amped up” by stressful, anxiety-producing feelings.” It was helpful to also see that there is a time and a place to complain if used to solve or move the needle on a problem. This begs the question can it be helpful to work from this position of disadvantage?
There are many examples that can be found where people have used a negative to keep them grounded and or focused on what they desire. One story is of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who keeps a painful memory in the forefront of his mind to help him to not become complacent. “’As crazy as it may sound, in my mind, I’m always a week away from getting evicted, and that’s what keeps me motivated, not the material things,’ he says. That thinking shifts his mindset from waiting for opportunity to creating opportunity.” Have you used this idea to motivate you?
I would encourage you to not get in the place of despair or where you are burned out because of thinking and dwelling on the disadvantage you may be in but to use those time to pause and use those challenges to help you grow and improve. I firmly believe we need these times to help us and make us better. Let me give you a few ways to help you in those times of disadvantage which will move the needle towards a positive result!
Use your strengths!
I come from a place that sees value in all people and know that you have seeds of greatness with in you. As a person of faith, I would say it this way that “you were made on purpose for a purpose.” I feel that this is one of the biggest challenges in today’s media hyped world. If what you are seeing and comparing yourself to is the sunny side of the truth of what people are posting on social media, you will be disappointed and frustrated. Taking the time to evaluate your values, your past and to really think through who you are at your core is gold in how you will show up every day and how you will live your life fulfilling your purpose. If you are struggling with this, please get on my calendar and let’s talk.
Plan
There will always be distraction and items that come up during the day. What you do with them is the question. Too often the immediate gets in the way of the important. One tool that I have found that helps to give me clarity and keep me focused is to take some time in the morning to look at my schedule and review my goals. After doing that I have written down the three most important items that will take me closer towards the completion of my goals. A question to ask is what is the next item that will advance myself to achieving my goal. By writing down these three items I can focus and concentrate on those items. If something comes up that does not move me towards my goal, I will write a note or delegate that item and follow up on it later.
Focus
With the three items that I have set out to do that day, it is important that you focus on those three items. This may require you to move to a quiet place if it requires concentration. When I am writing I need to do this. I have turned off the notifications on my phone because this was a huge distraction and broke my focus. I know there are other tools which will reduce the distractions and can help you focus. Whatever you need to do, focus is an important key in being successful and getting positive results in accomplishing your goals.
Discipline
Once you have planned and figured out how to reduce the distractions the next way to be more successful is to discipline yourself to stay the course. I loved the article I read about how exceptional people think which referenced their focus on process over outcome. Every day is just a step to get you closer to what you desire or the goal you are trying to reach. It is helpful to have the end in mind but to not get lost there but everyday do what is next. Nick Saban who is the Alabama Head Football Coach has this idea for his football team and is a great philosophy for life. That idea he calls “the process.” It is explained as “a philosophy that emphasizes preparation and hard work over results. It’s about constantly examining weak spots and gradually improving. If you fall short, you work to meet the standard of excellence next time. And if you win, you work to fight off complacency. The process, then, is never over.”
If you are in the space of being discouraged or are in that place where you feel you are working from a place of disadvantage, stop because dwelling on those thoughts isn’t going to make things any better. Take a moment and be grateful and then think about what you can do next.
The people that become successful are the ones who never give up but keep on pressing forward. In those times of discouragement or when you are that place of disadvantage is the best time to do something. The sense of making progress and the movement will help you build confidence.
I firmly believe you were made on purpose for a purpose. In the struggle of life often you may get distracted and lose sight of this. My focus is leadership development which ultimately starts with personal development. Let me help you become all that you were meant to be!