“Do It Now!” I tell myself that about 1,000 times a day. Saying it reminds me to take action, and it’s a good start, but not enough. What works best for me is starting with a specific target, identifying daily actions that move me in the direction of that target, and then focusing on what I need to do today in order to be successful. I conquer the easiest tasks first and use the resulting momentum to conquer the tough tasks, the things that no one likes to do, as I get closer to the goal. Here are some more questions that I ask myself in order to move closer to my goal, and to really get things done!
What am I doing with my life that fulfills my purpose? What a great, and scary question. You can’t answer it if you watch a lot of tv, eat a lot of fast food, and live far beyond your financial means. What is my purpose? What does my purpose filled life look like?
What am I pursuing? Creativity, balance, strength of character, integrity, honesty, joy? Can I find any of that consuming garbage? Garbage in, garbage out. How much time do I spend pursuing happiness and joy? Does my job allow me to pursue an ideal life that fulfills my purpose? If not, how can I rework my job or find a new job?
Can I do something poorly until I can do it well? “Anything worth doing, is worth doing __________.” Fill in the blank. If I take that approach, I might miss the chance to try something new, or learn something more complex than I am used to. If I allow my self to be bad at something new while I am learning all about it, then I will be open to asking for help and practicing until I get better. Letting go of my need to be good and competent, diminishes the risk.
“What if I try and fail?” Wow, what a whopper. I get this one a lot. “What if I run out of money?” “What if no one likes my idea?” “What if I can’t finish it on time?” “What if the economy gets worse?” “What if” is another way to say “I’m afraid.” It also immediately stops the problem solving process and stalls all action. Fear is good, it can be a great motivator if you ask it to be. Next time I face the “what if”, my answer is “then.” “If I run out of money, then I will have to earn more or spend less.” If no one likes my idea, then I will find a different audience or rework my idea.” “If I can’t finish on time, then I will have to get help or make more time.” “If the economy gets worse, then I will seek more knowledge, work with more focus and energy, and look for new solutions.”
The most important thing I have learned about getting things done in the last 40 years!
The most important thing I have ever learned about achieving goals, making progress, getting things done, and finding success is: The only difference between successful and unsuccessful people is, successful people do the things that unsuccessful people don’t want to do. Successful people don’t want to do these things either, but they do them anyway because they are focused on their purpose and the outcome of the work. Unsuccessful people want an easy path and will put up with an unpleasant outcome or destination in order to avoid the discomfort of possible rejection, embarrassment, etc…
Do It Now! Pray and move your feet!
One last thought.
Teamwork and collaboration are vitally essential to living a purpose filled, worthwhile life. You might need new teammates at times, or you might need to lead your team with more force than you are comfortable with. When I lead my team through solution finding exercises, I ask them to make a list of all the ways we CAN achieve a goal or desired outcome. I also let them write all the reasons why we CAN’T be successful, but I ask them to write it on their worksheets in the column labeled “Why we CAN’T.” They see immediately how much I value their fears and negative thoughts, when they look down at the paper and see the column is filled with a giant X with no room to write. It quickly refocuses them to become solution focused instead of problem focused.
Matt Pasquinilli is the Executive Director of the non profit Asian Arts Center Taekwondo School in Dayton, Ohio.
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