Every morning people around the world open their eyes and think this is the day! This is the day I am going to achieve a new level of performance. Today is the day I transition into the person I have been thinking about for years. Then almost instantly it’s like someone decides to take control of your brain and flood it with thoughts of why you should wait until tomorrow.
Each day people agree to wait until tomorrow and never stop to take notice that this tomorrow has turned into years or even decades. The auto-pilot thoughts flood your brain with thoughts about all your imperfections. Why you aren’t good enough, pretty enough, valuable enough, smart enough and that real confidence does not exist. You continue to agree and many people at some point start believing that this is just the way life is.
That you were born with only a certain amount of skills, confidence and self-worth. So at this point you roll out of bed deciding to give into that voice and settle for another day of living life going through the motions.
It’s so easy for people to go through their day and talk either out loud or in their minds about all the things they don’t want. Actually I have put this to the test when speaking or mentoring to groups of teams, companies or individuals.
I ask the simple question to write down 5 things they would change about either themselves or their life and they have 30 seconds. Typically people can fill up this list really fast!
Then I give them the same amount of time and ask them to write 5 things they love about themselves and most people can not think of 5 things at all. To be fully transparent in doing this exercise for almost a decade, the average time it takes someone to complete writing down 10 things they love about themselves is about 45 minutes!
Performance Mistakes
You might be asking yourself why we should care. What’s the big deal if it takes someone nearly an hour to figure out what they love about their life. Here is the BIG idea…
“Most people tend to have a very clear idea of what they do not want, and yet have a very vague idea of what they do want.”
We spend more time talking about all the things we do not want. We are very CLEAR about all the things in life that we do not want. It can be simple things like I do not want to get sick. I do not want to fail this test, this sport/competition, get turned down on a date…
What you focus on is what you attract. Without even thinking about it so many people drift through their days thinking about what they do not want instead of what they desire. It’s a very subtle shift but it can make all the difference in your life!
The funny part about it all is that you do not have to make a huge effort towards attracting your goals and desires. Most believe that it’s going to require massive amounts of effort or willpower to change their life. But really step one is just to start thinking about what you’re thinking about!
My mentor even suggested setting an alarm several times throughout the day and begin to take notice of what you’re thinking about or experiencing. Are they things that you desire or are they draining your energy?! So many people because they drift along each day have no idea how much energy is being wasted on pointless thoughts and activities!
Celebrate Performance
As many of you know how big I am on celebrating goals! Not just celebrating after they happen but actually celebrating them weeks or months before as if they have already happened. Because in my mind they have already happened. Hands down one of the most powerful exercises I have implemented in my life!
While the celebration is important. What I have recently been able to understand is why people are never able to focus on things they desire in their life. As I was reading last week in Reality Transurfing it said:
“Good news is quickly forgotten because it gives us no cause for concern. In contrast, bad news evokes an active response because it poses a potential threat.”
On the surface this statement is so simple. But it is incredibly powerful towards understanding why so many people never achieve the level of performance they really desire. Also is a reason why so many people are living in stress every day! They are always concerned about the threats in destroying their days and lives.
Even after working with athletes, coaches, leaders and CEOs one of the most common responses after achieving something is “yeah but that was supposed to happen.” Failing to give ourselves credit for good news, performance or achievements must change now!
Change Your Day Today
The greatest gift you can give yourself is the ability to love yourself! The ability to allow all those thoughts of imperfections pass you by! It creates a peace of mind that allows you to truly enjoy this life!
So often people think they are not deserving to be happy, joyful and have the ability to enjoy life right now. It’s almost as if people have been hardwired to believe that you must wait until “one day” Or maybe when you turn 65 that you can start enjoying life.
Well I wanna either be a reminder or the one to tell you that life is meant to enjoy now. Whether you’re an athlete and have dreams, enjoy them now. If you’re a parent, enjoy your life now. Running a business or team it’s time to start having more fun now!
Spend the next 24 hours focusing on all the good news and excitement in your life!