Get Out of Your Own Way
Bretton Curtis - TOBS
Do you ever want to do something outside of your comfort zone but lack the follow though?
You want to be YOU but you feel like you can't.
Many of us have thoughts of the ideal person we want to be, and begin to explore this in our minds but always seem to leave it there. We fail to take action and just start doing it. We either feel like a fraud, or feel like we never could, or don't have what it takes to become this person. We are afraid of what other people might think, our family, friends, co workers, or even our spouse. Have you ever thought why?
Find your Why
If you feel like your stagnant, not living up to your potential, not in the position you feel you should be or just feel like you can't get any momentum towards your goals, you need to ask yourself "Why do I want to change"? This will help give you something to work with. You may want to get a better job to support your family, or get a better body to feel better about yourself, or even learn a new skill that will give you the confidence to take the next leap. Finding your reason why will help compel you to do the work you've been putting off and finally start making progress.
Stop caring so much what others think
If you get too caught up in worrying about what others think (whether it's their confidence in you to actually do it, or they think you will fail) you will fall victim to their own projections of themselves and start to believe them. Reject negativity, if it's something positive and you think it will improve your life then you need to do it! If you don't suffer the pain of potential embarrassment now you will have to suffer the much greater pain of regret later. If other people are projecting their own feelings of inadequacy on to you it's best that you stop talking to them about it. Find someone that will share your enthusiasm, this person will help keep you on course and give you some accountability once you start taking the necessary steps towards your goals.
Now think How
Sit down and describe the end result of your goal, write it down on a piece of paper and get descriptive as possible. Every detail matters. Visualize you at the end, the person you are dying to become. Now work backwards, start to think about every action required to get there, and make a plan. The plan doesn't have to be perfect, you can refine it as you go. It just has to make sense. If I do x,y,z, over the course of x amount of days, I should realistically achieve this goal. Write the plan out and then execute.
Execute
Once you write the plan out, act it out accordingly. Do not deviate from the plan unless it's in the plan! IE: I'm going to stick to my diet for two weeks straight before I have a cheat meal. Write down your whole day from the time you wake up until the time you go to bed and find where you can squeeze in your plan. You will have more time than you think if you are able to chose your purpose over your pleasures. Turn off the tv, put the phone face down, and get to work.
Refine
As you start working the plan, you may find ways to improve it or make it work better or more efficiently. As long as it doesn't take away from what you are trying to accomplish, implement good changes! Just remember to stick to it one unplanned deviation can turn into a whole week off course and will hurt your momentum, making it harder to get back in the game. Stay in the game!
Evolve
Once you hit your goal, congratulations! Celebrate this victory for no more than one day, then move on and find a new, bigger scarier goal to accomplish. You can keep rolling this over and over again until you are tackling things you never thought you had the ability to accomplish! Don't stop trying to grow, it's not a destination, it's a journey. If you can learn to enjoy the journey you will enjoy the process and start being able to have a bigger vision for yourself.