Have you ever wondered what is the difference between those who realize their dreams and make the most of life…and those who don’t?
Take a moment to think…how far along are you one month into the new year on the goals, intentions, resolutions, etc…that you’d set for yourself?
Admittedly, whether we at least get started or stay stuck, feeling overwhelmed is in our hands. So, why then do most of us tend to get in the way of achieving what we say we want?
This kind of examination when used for purposes of growth, rather than for beating ourselves up, can go a long way in actualizing the things we truly want in our lives which somehow seem elusive.
Remember, this isn’t about feeling bad about where you are. The goal is to help you see that many factors can contribute to putting the brakes on the things we want to move along, e.g., our level of perseverance, how chaotic or organized our lifestyles are, our sense of self worth, etc..
And, if we were to scratch below the surface, we would discover that the above examples in some way are related to one thing — our CLARITY (or lack thereof).
Once we’re clear on what we want and why we want it (the second part of the equation for going after what we want with determination), then overcoming our limitations becomes more manageable. Why? Because what we want must happen for us — yes or yes!
So if you generally are the high performer, go-getter type…or you strive to be that in an area of your life, e.g., career, wellbeing, or relationships, then below is a powerful framework you can use to gain clarity and how you can make things happen.
SEEK CLARITY <to create a vision for a life you love and move toward it>
Complete the sentences below by setting clear intentions for who you want to be, what skills you must develop to succeed, and what is meaningful to you. No matter where you are today, you can benefit from this tool and move toward creating a vision and realizing your ideal life…one goal at a time.
Self
Three words that describe my best self are . . .
Some ideas for how I can embody these words more often this upcoming week are . . .
Skills
The five skills I’m trying to develop most in my life right now are . . .
The way I can learn or practice those skills this week includes . . .
Define What’s Meaningful
Something I can do or create that would bring me more meaning in life is . . .
Keep it simple, keep your eyes on the prize, tweak your approach as you progress, and take action to advance your goal.
What we focus on and practice is what we become. After you’ve completed this exercise, keep it some place where you’d see it daily so you can remind yourself of these things and consistently act on them.
P.s., Cheering you on! Be willing to go beyond the familiar and push your comfort zone, even if a little. And, if you’re doing this and still feel you’re lacking clarity or feeling stuck, then share your ideas and ask for feedback.
“Vision without action is a dream, action without vision is a nightmare.”
The importance of having a vision for what we want then going for it. We can avoid nightmarish situations, waste less time, and reach our goals much faster.
When you take the leap of faith, have the courage and enough confidence to approach someone in a manner where it’s collaborative, and you really want a good outcome for projects you’re working on then it becomes something that you’re able to influence.
At the end of the day, if you don’t have a clear vision for where you’re going then you’re going to bumble around and kill a lot of time. The best way to avoid that is to have clarity and to sometimes take charge, if need be, and put yourself in that leadership role.
Watch the video to get the full training.
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES
TRANSCRIPT
[The following is a transcript of the video. Please note that it is unscripted and shot in one take.]
Hey friends, I recently read an old proverb that goes something like “vision without action is a dream, action without vision is a nightmare”.
So, I’m sure you can relate to situations where perhaps you’ve wanted to take action on something and you’re taking the action, you’re doing all kinds of things but you really don’t have a vision for what the outcome is. You really don’t have clarity on where it is that you want to go with it…so it becomes a bit of a nightmare because you just are going from one thing to the next aimlessly. And, that in and of itself, creates a very nightmarish situation.
Whereas, imagine a situation or a scenario where perhaps you have a vision. You’re taking the necessary actions to get there and you have a road map of sorts…a sort of syllabus where you know what’s going to happen, with a timeline, a deadline for delivery. Then you have such clarity and you don’t have to worry about what’s next. You could really use that bandwidth from trying to kind of bumble around things to actually going ahead and implementing things, from a project management perspective, if you will.
So there’s a real difference in feeling — where you feel contracted, where you are in that situation where you’re just bumbling around trying to get things done. But, you really don’t have a vision for what the grand scheme of things is and what you’re supposed to deliver at the end of the day. This, versus where you are clear on where you’re going and you sort of have a marching order that you can place for yourself or maybe somebody gives it to you.
But, this is just one scenario; it could also apply at work. You know, so you have a manager that is basically saying “hey we need to get this done but he doesn’t really give you a clear guideline of what needs to get done by when, in what sequence. You’re kind of feeling your way through and at any given time somebody can drop another bomb and say “oh we need this now, no we need this later”.
So, how do you avoid these kinds of situations? How do you proactively guard your energy so you can utilize them toward actually doing the tasks that are necessary for you to do?
One of the most important things that I’ve learned is to when you feel that sensation of things becoming nightmarish, it becoming out of control, and you not having a clear idea of where you are headed, it’s a good time to pause then talk to whoever’s in charge — especially if you are not in a position of power or control, if you’re not at the helm of making sure things are happening in a particular sequence.
Just have a chat and say “hey I really need to figure out what needs to get done when, and in that way I can actually plan around that, and so I can use my energy, my mind, my mental space, and all of that stuff toward actually getting the things that need to get done done rather than spinning in circles.
And, that takes a lot of courage to approach somebody who might be let’s say above you. Egos might get hurt because you’re questioning perhaps how things are getting done. But, at the end of the day it really does put you in a position of influence.
When you actually take the leap of faith and have the courage and have enough confidence to approach someone in a manner where it’s collaborative and you really want a good outcome for whatever project you’re working on then it becomes something that you’re actually able to influence. You’re able to influence whoever’s in charge and also whomever is in your team.
It doesn’t always only have to be in a work environment. It could very well be in your relationships. It could be on any project that you’ve taken on.
At the end of the day, if you don’t have a clear vision for where you’re going then you’re going to bumble around and kill a lot of time. The best way to avoid that is to have clarity and to sometimes take charge, if need be, and put yourself in that leadership role.
And, these are attributes — in terms of having confidence, courage, being a leader, and our ability to influence — that are crucial skills that we need as we evolve in life. Especially, in light of everything that’s going on at the moment.
It really is important to assume the role of a leader. We really are needed to lead when everything is sort of in chaos and we’re not sure where to look. So, if you actually have the presence of mind and clarity then by all means do just that.
I’ll give you a little example to illustrate what I’m talking about. So, I’m taking a course for a couple of weeks and unfortunately the course is laid out in a way where you just go to class and they tell you what happens that day. But, you don’t know what’s next.
It went on like this for about a week before I finally couldn’t take it, where it became nightmarish. I got to class early one day and asked the teacher, again it’s in a foreign language so I was really trying and there were so many different barriers at play which made the situation even more miserable. But, I basically said “listen I just need to plan everything else that I also have to get done. Please give me an idea of what the timeline is”. I had a quick 10 minute chat with her, she laid it out for me — you need to do this then after that we’re going to do this and this and that and the other.
Now I can work backwards, from the deadline that I had actually set for myself. And, I shared it with a handful of my classmates…everybody thought brilliant, now we know what comes next.
A small example but really illustrates the importance of taking charge. It really is important to show up for yourself and show up your mission. And, you guard that by basically guarding your energy, by knowing where you are going to go, what you’re going to do, and what the trajectory is going to be.
It’s essentially about making sure that you show up confidently for yourself, making sure that you are showing up courageously for yourself, knowing that you have the power to influence, to ask questions.
You know, asking is free so you can ask whatever question you want you without being afraid of any kind of consequences as long as it’s in the interest of the project, the relationship, or whatever the case might be.
Well, friends I hope that serves you. If you found this video useful, do share it with others who you think might be inspired by it. And, if you have any comments do leave some comments below.
Would you say that you’re happy with your level of focus and productivity?
While I appreciate we’re in the thick of a global pandemic, the reality is that no one knows how long this will last. But, it’s safe to say that this is not the Apocalypse and we will eventually carry on with life, perhaps as we knew it or perhaps differently. In any case, it’ll go on. Thus, this post is written in the spirit of looking forward toward that resumption.
Picture the pulmonologist right now. She’s in the middle of the chaos, flooded with information about a deadly disease damaging the lungs. And, making matters worse, the daily new findings she’d spent hours pouring over get scrapped for other ones the next day. She’s back to step one. Surely she’s overwhelmed not only by the speed of information coming at her but also by the emotional drain caused by witnessing the suffering of others. Not a good place to be. Right?
Then there are some of us who are fortunate enough to ride this thing out from the comfort of our homes. I get that we’re worried about the unknown, missing our routines, and eagerly awaiting some semblance of normalcy. But, this is also our big chance to develop ourselves, to use this time productively.
How you measure productivity is entirely up to you. But, what my challenge for you as your High Performance Coach is for you to be the person who found the opportunity in this tragedy. Skill up, rest, reset, and be ready to hit the ground running when the world is back to business.
Practice the following High Performance Habits to keep yourself motivated:
Self care should be prioritized. Get the right amount of sleep, eat well, exercise, and meditate.
Choose positivity. Be aware of what’s going on in the world but limit how much time you spend on your intake of that. Instead, listen more to inspirational messages — podcasts, books, leaders.
Want more for yourself, your family, and community and take actions toward making that happen. Ambition plus Action are scientifically backed triggers for increased motivation.
For a one-two punch, couple the above with this High Performance framework that I guide my Coaching clients through. Complete the sentences to get into a more productive mindset. Then, act on it.
Excellence Minded:
If I could become more excellent at certain skills or areas in my life, and it would help me advance more quickly, those skills or focal points would be….
The things that really work for me in staying productive are…
The things that prevent me from being productive that I need to better deal with include…
Remember, we’re adaptive and resilient beings. It’s in our nature to recalibrate and look for ways to successfully move forward. Six months from now, where will you be?
Most times we think an act has to be herculean for it to be deemed courageous. Actually, something seemingly simple like asking for help is quite courageous, especially in a society that celebrates ultra independence.
Courage in High Performance is the glue that binds the other principles, such as Clarity, Productivity, etc, i.e., the more courage the more clarity, the higher the productivity and so forth.
Courage also is a major catalyst for increasing confidence as the more we step out and succeed (or find that stepping out didn’t kill us) the more we gain confidence, thereby creating a strong connection between Courage and Confidence.
So, back to what courage means to you… I’m willing to bet that right now you’re showing up more courageously than you think. The current crisis our world is undergoing is challenging us to adapt and create new norms. If you’re speaking up for yourself, sharing more, and expressing your real self in this atmosphere then you’ve truly uncovered a new level of courage.
The reality is that when it comes to Courage, most times it’s our mind playing tricks on us. With this awareness, we can look at things for what they are, welcome the discomfort, and still make moves — take action, no matter how small. Just think about the things you’d feared in the past but did anyway that turned out better than you’d expected.
Here is a High Performance framework I guide my Coaching clients through that I recommend you put to practice. Complete the sentences to see where you need to apply more Courage in your life.
Sharing Your Truth:
The person(s) I need to be more direct and honest with about my true thoughts, feelings, ideas, and dreams include…
It would take a lot of courage for me to tell them that…
Take More Action:
If I did the following things more frequently, that would help me gain the skills and confidence I need to achieve my bigger dreams…
If you have big dreams, know that you can do it! One step at a time.
What comes to mind when you think of having Energy in your life?
In High Performance studies we focus on three primary facets of Energy — mental, emotional, and physical. Our mental alertness and positive emotions (mind) and physical (body) must equally be nurtured.
Energy, it turns out, is one of the most important things to master in becoming a High Performer in whatever area of your life. It’s the foundation upon which everything else is built. As such, we want to amplify positive emotions, sustain mental clarity, and increase physical vitality.
When life gets busy, one of the first things that goes out the window is the most critical thing we need to meet the demand — managing our energy. We tend to compromise getting sufficient sleep, good diet, exercise, and rest to name a few.
The good news is it’s under your control to live a fully charged life. This will result in you feeling good about yourself, your relationships, and your work — the jumping off point to chasing your dreams.
Here is a High Performance framework that I guide my Coaching clients through that’s sure to help you. Complete the sentences to see how you are managing your mind and body then identify and set goals for the areas that can benefit from improvement.
Mind:
The goals I have about mastering my mind—how I want to think, deal with stress, and create a good mindset include…
The daily and weekly habits and practices I need to start so that I can feel more energized by this area of my life include…
Body:
The goals I have about mastering my body—how I want to feel physically, how I want to move, be healthy, etc include…
The daily and weekly habits and practices I need to start so that I can feel more energized by this area of my life include…
It’s especially easy to fall under the hypnotic power of current events but more so now than ever is it important we maintain and manage our energy.
Erina Haile 