Over the past decade, I’m most definitely guilty of what I’m about to share with you. I’ve achieved so much that I’m proud of over the years because of focused action. But also, there are so many things that I didn’t achieve because of the stories and excuses I created—and unfocused actions.
It’s perfectly normal, but I can see so clearly now from the work I’ve done just in 2019 alone. I’ve been able to catch my self-sabotaging stories much quicker. I’ve created the ability to shut the stories down so that I continue on a clear, fast path to achieving my goals. I’ve mentioned triggers before and our inner stories and excuses are our biggest triggers.
The biggest trigger to catch is calling your own BS—what story are you bull-sh*ting now?
That’s exactly what I ask myself. “Susan, where’s the BS in this story?” I ask and then I answer it. Here’s an example: In my head, I may say “In order for me to start my new nutrition habits I have to clean out my kitchen, so I’ll wait to finish what we have and then start.”
WRONG. The BS story is procrastinating with probably fear. For me, it was that I didn’t want to waste food and throw out money, and I was stalling because I didn’t want to start yet.
The truth now and this is a new habit I’ve been able to conquer for the past 3 years is that I throw out the crap, unsupportive snacks and junk. I have no shame in wasting crappy food that will get in my way.
Two different approaches right?
How Your Focused Actions Delivered Ultimate Results
With the second approach of overcoming that negative inner chatter, I WIN on so many levels. I win with control, I get uncomfortable for growth and create evidence of being able to throw out junk and unsupportive food once, so I can do it again and again. Make sense?
Here’s another real-life example with many of my clients.
I have lots of clients who are achieving over and over and over. However, they are still human with their own self-sabotaging stories, right?
I meet with my clients every week, it’s proven to have the most impact when it comes to achieving, even if the meeting is just 5-10 minutes. I remember when I had a $40k contract with a company and we meet every week for updates and recaps on their advertising on Identity Magazine and their content marketing with us.
Sometimes we spent over an hour together and other weeks it was simply 5 minutes. But the progress we made was so direct and fast because we never lost sight of our goals and knew that we had this accountability to have XY or Z done each week.
Focused Actions
Deliver Ultimate Results
One of my clients experienced two opposite results. One achievement was the ultimate goal because of dedicated focus and effort. We never missed a meeting and if we did, we made it up within days. The result of this consistent, focused work created a huge win in the end.
When it came to phase two of the next goal, our weekly meetings kept getting rescheduled, and I watched and listened to the excuses. “I have this and that, and know this goal will happen at the right time”. Or, “I’m just gonna finish this project and then I’ll focus on this.” These along with other stories are distracting choices.
The Result…
We haven’t accomplished the 2nd goal—YET. It’s still in the works.
I know it could have been launched and added an additional national income for this client, but there wasn’t a focused effort.
The same goal this client wanted, I was able to do in just 2 and ½ weeks and earned over $10k. It was intense those weeks, but I achieved because of the dedicated accountability and focused effort.
There is no wrong or right here, I’m simply breaking down the difference in choices, patterns, and dedication.
So the questions are…why was this client pushing off this goal? Was it too much work? Were they experience fear? Was the client distracted? Did they lose connection with their WHY?
Only the client will be able to answer that, but what I do know and watched was two different behaviors for two different goals. With the result of the positive focused behavior reaching their goal and the other, not reaching it.
Do you see the difference?
The clear reason why one was achieved and the other not, was all on the distraction and not implementing the small, weekly steps towards achieving. These are the honest conversations we must have with ourselves. These are the triggers, patterns to become aware of and own it.
So when we say “I’ve tried everything”, have you really? Did you do the work?
I believe in you and I know that ANY goal is possible.
What is your next goal and what do you have lined up and in place to keep you on track towards achieving it?
Get honest with yourself, your stories and excuses and squash them!
P.S. You need focused actions and accountability. In Discover Your Power & Ignite Your Life masterclass, I teach you simple exercises to clear and release the negative blocks, triggers, and fears so that you can stay focused. We take action, so you always know how capable you are in having your desires and goals come to fruition and what steps to take next. I invite and offer you to join us now
We ask that every contributor and expert answer the Identity questions in keeping with our theme.
Their answers can be random and in the moment. Or the answers can be aligned with the current article they have written. In that way, and as a team, we hope to encourage and motivate each other, thus inspiring you to Get All A’s.
What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? Additionally, what are you still working on accepting? Now, we’re not talking about resignation, rather stepping into, embraced, and owned.
I’ve learned to accept the responsibility for my results. With nutrition, weight loss, muscle gain, business success, marriage communication, etc. What effort am I giving and is it consistent?
Appreciation is everything. What have you learned to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? On the other hand OR in contrast, are there elements of who you are that you’re still working on appreciating?
I appreciate the digital life and how there is so much opportunity. There are so many ways for all of us to learn from one another, succeed and grow. I appreciate my coaches who push me to discover my powers.
Share with us one of your most rewarding achievements in life? Tell us not only what makes YOU most proud but also share the goals and dreams that you still have.
This life, being a mother and a wife. I’m extremely blessed and proud of the effort and energy I continue to give it and provide. I enjoy it and continue to grow every day.
Photo by Eunice De Guzman on Unsplash
