I have 452 messages in my three email accounts. About one eighth of these I have not read yet. But, I’m going to. At least 30 of them are things I need to act on. Or remember. So, I save them.
About another fourth are offers for ebooks and links to sites I want to visit, interviews I want to hear, etc. And I will…Sometime. When I’m not so tired. When the house is quiet. When I have time…
But, if I’m honest with myself, there’s really only one word for the situation:
OVERLOAD!
It’s just too much. Waaaaaay too much.
If we’re in debt, and/or if we’re not pulling in the amount of money we want, we are probably experiencing similar overload in terms of why things are the way they are. We could probably make a very long list as to why we’re in debt and/or not making more money:
- we eat out too much
- credit card interest is killing us
- we go shopping for emotional reasons
- the car is constantly breaking down
- we don’t know how to xyz so we can’t earn more money
- we’re afraid to start a business–what if we fail
- it’s the kids/my spouse/the government’s fault.
And the list goes on and on. It’s like being pitched 12 baseballs at once and trying to hit a home run.
So, how do we focus?
Choose one. It could be the easiest one to deal with or the hardest (most of us prefer to start a certain way–the most difficult or the least difficult. Either will work.)
It could be the one causing the most damage.
But choose only one and then do this:
EVALUATE YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS:
- “I don’t know how to program so I can’t get a job at the University”
- Why haven’t I learned this in the past?
- I failed at it once and I don’t like doing it. I really hate programming.
- What does this mean?
- I may not like the job at the University.
- How else could I achieve working at the University or making more money?
- I could take a course in something else, like graphic arts. I love graphic arts and they have a big program at the University. Maybe I could eventually teach!
Once you have dissected the issue you must work at it for several weeks before you will settle into the new way of thinking or the new behavior. Like a new pair of shoes or a new bed, you have to get your groove in there.
It takes about 3 weeks to develop a new habit.
The good new is that it ONLY takes 3 weeks to develop a new habit. In three weeks time you could be making major renovations to your life!
The key is to
- identify the pieces of the puzzle that are defeating you, stressing you out, and getting in your way of living your dream
- choose one
- peel off the layers so you can see what’s really happening with the issue (sometimes we need counsel to help us do this!)
- find a way to change it or alleviate it that you will really be happy with.
There’s an old saying that people do what they really want to do. Design your new life with things you really want to do and you will be infinitely successful.
Best wishes.
NOW HERE’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE FUNNIES:
John invited his mother over for dinner. During the meal, his
mother couldn’t help noticing how beautiful John’s roommate was. She had long been suspicious of a relationship between
John and his roommate, and this only made her more curious.
Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between
John and the roommate than met the eye. Reading his mom’s thoughts,
John volunteered, “I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Julie and I are just roommates.”
About a week later, Julie came to
John and said, “Ever since your
mother came to dinner, I’ve been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don’t suppose she took it, do you?”
John said, “Well, I doubt it, but I’ll write her a letter just to be sure.”
So he sat down and wrote “Dear
Mother, I’m not saying you did take a
gravy ladle from my house, and I’m not saying you did not take a
gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.”
Several days later,
John received a letter from his
mother which read: “Dear Son, I’m not saying that you do sleep with Julie, and I’m not saying that you do not sleep with Julie. But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the
gravy ladle by now. Love, Mom.”
Lesson of the day: Don’t lie to your
mother.
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