Managing Distractions
Multiple creative ideas can become distractions and might feel overwhelming at times. Large projects or too many projects at once may clog the ol’ cranial warehouse and shut down production. So, keep it simple:
Talk through your goal and steps with someone and ask them to keep you accountable to your efforts and keep a progress/success log, to keep your focus on your activity and not on the next shiny marble that comes into your view.
Fire-Ready-Aim!
Fire-Ready-Aim is a term often used to describe behavior that is impulsive and frequently renders unwanted outcomes. Reacting hastily without considering potential consequences, difficulty stopping or altering a destructive action once it has been put into motion, blurting out thoughts without forethought about the possible outcome are some examples of impulsive behavior. Impulsive, unfocused behavior complicates our lives and frequently leads to conflict and/or harmful consequences at the professional and personal level.
Impulsivity is something many of us struggle with at times, some more than others.
If you find yourself wishing you could be more proactive and less reactive in your thoughts and deeds I would encourage you to practice a simple exercise.
Try asking yourself these four questions before taking any action.
1. What am I doing?
2. Why am I doing it?
3. What outcome do I want?
4. What outcome should I expect?
Write these questions down and keep them with you. Practice referring to the page until they become automatic thoughts.
Thoughtful Behavior Leads to Fruitful Outcomes
We frequently do not have control over what happens to us on a daily basis. While we seem to put forth great effort towards controlling our environment, it is not uncommon for universal forces to exert unexpected events and pressures upon us.
What we do have are opportunities to determine how we face these events and the choices we make during each experience. Being aware of our thoughts, feelings and actions produce more chances to make purposeful choices which can produce positive outcomes.
Commit to making an effort each day to step back and ask a few attentive questions when you are faced with a difficult demand, transition or experience.
Here are a few to ponder:
Why am I doing this (planful/mindful strategy, reactive emotions, seeking immediate gratification, external distractions, outside pressures, feeling overwhelmed etc.)?
What outcome am I seeking and how do I benefit?
Is what I am doing at this moment going to lead to my desired outcome?
If the answer is no, Do I need to alter my behavior or plan?
Do I need help?
Remember, thoughtful behavior often leads to meaningful outcomes.
A Monday Morning No Limits Tip.
If you want to be more successful in your endeavors, make the challenge personal by developing your own routine and following a system that fits the way you work best, rather than the way people think you should work. The key will always be knowing how you work best!
Evoke Your Potential
How many of us lose our potential for success by locking onto our self-doubts, fear of failure or avoidance of outside judgment? It’s so easy to get lost in the commotion and muddle that embodies our lives today.
Take a moment to increase your awareness of what you do well and the potential you possess.
Create a thorough inventory of your strength’s, skills, ambitions, and successes. Write them out, read them silently, say them out loud and record them while you do. Be sure to listen back. Repeat often.
There can only be one skipper piloting your ship. Who better than you?
How Do We change?
Often, with resistance and resentment, cautiously, slowly, apprehensively and with uncertainty. Productive change comes from commitment and resolve, from intentional activity, energy, enthusiasm and resilience.
The process of change is packed with a multitude of emotions and behaviors that could be both beneficial and detrimental and so, the Ying and the Yang of life.
Yet we change because we must on occasion, because we can on others. More importantly we change because we have the opportunity to choose and affect a better way of living and experiencing life.
There are experts who believe they understand the process of change and suggest that following their guide exactly as they direct it will lead to successful and rewarding change and they are probably right at times.
I work from a belief that we are more likely to act upon and sustain productive effort when we respond to ideas, structures and values that we embrace as our own and believe to be true.
As a coach, I embrace this principle and encourage individuals to explore and develop goals/aspirations/dreams and action plans that emanate from their own driving principles, passions, beliefs and views of themselves and the world they live in.
My role as a coach is to walk along as a part of the journey, stimulating thought, creativity and intentional behavior, problem solving, exploring and removing road blocks and celebrating the successes along the path rather than directing every step.
Change is a process of time and movement. Is it time?
Self Awareness Beats Self-Doubt, Everytime
How often do you question your efforts to make any progress towards the personal or professional goals you have set? Many professionals I have coached initially find themselves bogged down in self-doubt and negative judgment. When asked to review their progress they will list a litany of all of the things they have not done and note how discouraged they feel.
But when asked to identify what they have accomplished over the past week they struggle to recall any positive actions or successes.
Here is a simple action that can be invaluable when you fall into this trap.
Take an inventory of your achievements. Set aside a few moments each day to identify the successes and purposeful initiatives you have taken that you find noteworthy and write them down, then review your inventory each week. If you struggle to name your accomplishments, seek out a trusted partner, friend or co-worker to see if they can objectively add to your list.
It is easy to get distracted by all of the things that go wrong and your self-proclaimed failures in a day and week. It is imperative for you to never lose sight of your achievements and significant efforts. Your ability to be mindful of what you have accomplished is a valuable cue to what you are truly capable of and will provide the impetus for continued effort and your ultimate success.
No Limits Tip for the Week
How many of us lose our potential for success by locking onto our self-doubts, fear of failure or avoidance of outside judgment? It’s so easy to get lost in the noise, smoke and chaos that are today’s norms.
Take a moment to step back and engage in your personal authenticity.
Create a daily inventory of your strength’s, goals and successes, (write them out, read them silently, then say them out loud and make sure to share them with assurance and conviction with whomever may need to be enlightened of your unique significance).
But I Never Planned on Being a Hat Checker in a Chinese Deli!
So how did I get here?
By luck? By accident? By trusting in the good intentions of others?
If you believed you were going to be an astronaut, but ended up working as a Hat Checker in a Chinese Deli, chances are you never designed and followed a plan that was based on your skills, your values and your dreams.
Unfettered focus and behavior often place us at the mercy of luck, accidents and the good or bad intentions of others.
If you are sincere in your desire to create a new journey/adventure, take a moment to identify a personal or professional aspiration. Map out each phase necessary to reach that goal. Set a date for taking an initial step forward and set a completion deadline. Share this deadline with someone you trust. Periodically share your progress with that person to assure your sustained effort. Never ignore asking for help if your journey gets bumpy. Repeat over and over until the activity becomes an automatic occurrence and say hello astronaut school!
Jim’s Thought for the Day
It’s great to be well intended, but it doesn’t guarantee success or even meaningful effort. Build habits that help you to know what to do and when to do it. Try this early morning suggestion.
a. Use a Planner daily and refer to it often. Write with pen and paper (how archaic), utilize a computer, draw pictures on a cave wall (even more archaic), or record on your smart phone, all of your critical priorities and times for attending to them and be sure to repeat them out loud. You are more likely to stay on track when you have visual and audio reminders of your daily priorities and commitments. Always ask; What am I doing? Why am I doing it? What outcome am I striving for? Should I anticipate a positive or negative outcome if I continue with this activity? Questions such as these can be helpful for staying on track and attaining the goal you seek.
Entrepreneur, Meet ADHD
Article on Entrepreneurs and ADHD
I recently read an article by Jake Chapman who wrote, “Garret LoPorto cites Fortune Magazine claiming that people with ADHD are 300 percent more likely to start their own company than others.”
I had two thoughts. First, that makes sense. Folks with ADHD are quite often, creative, socially engaging, curious, bright, highly energetic, enthusiastic risk takers who prefer to work out of the box.
And then I thought, Oh! Oh! There is going to be a large portion of those adventurous souls who are going to struggle and possibly fail, because adults with ADHD can also be impulsive, have difficulty prioritizing, and completing projects on time. They are easily bored and distracted, prone to overestimating their ability to achieve a goal, or underestimating the time and effort required to reach that goal. Stir in the additional burden of depression and anxiety that can tag along with ADHD and the mountain looms higher and higher.
An entrepreneur must wear many hats and face a wide array of challenges:
· Long and short-term planning
· Resources identified, acquired and developed
· Hiring, mentoring and supervising staff
· Develop and implement business strategies
· Cultivate and maintain critical business relationships
· Fight daily fires
How do you do all that and maintain value in personal relationships?
Life is a balancing act and ADHD is an unbalancing state.
ADHD can lead to new problems or aggravate existing ones. As a result, the entrepreneur may also experience emotional stress and discomfort.
There are many coping strategies that successful entrepreneurs employ. Some beneficial habits are:
· Utilizing planning schedulers to identify and manage critical priorities.
· Employing apps for organizing and time management.
· Working with a coach or mentor.
· Developing and maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits.
· Scheduling breaks from a hectic work schedule.
· Nurturing special interests and relationships.
· Taking time to laugh, play and rest.
· Having trusted confidantes to rely on.
· Delegating rather than overextending time and effort.
These are self-care strategies that are vital to creating and sustaining a thriving business, and a healthy life.
On the flip side, there are hazardous behaviors that may emerge. Some will choose to wing it rather than plan it. They may overextend time, focus and work on stimulating or interesting tasks rather than on critical priorities. Overestimating abilities and resources, underestimating timelines, and impulsive decision-making can be a killer. Some may self-sooth through over eating, substance abuse, gambling, or thrill seeking behaviors. I would note that, many of these actions might produce negative and potentially dramatic consequences on relationships and personal lives.
Are entrepreneurs with ADHD doomed to a failed effort? I say, nay, nay! In fact, there are many successful entrepreneurs who have reportedly been linked to the struggles of ADHD: Richard Branson, Bill Gates, David Neeleman, (Jet Blue founder), Paul Orfalea, (Kinko’s founder) and Walt Disney, are just a few.
There is a fine line between the entrepreneur who succeeds with ADHD and the one who does not. I would note that, this could also be true for entrepreneurs who do not have ADHD. The professional who succeeds will acknowledge and accept the difficulties their actions, habits and emotions create, and they will develop a plan of action to correct or manage their problems.
If you struggle with the strain and stress of starting and effectively operating your own business, I say, Don’t Try To Do It Alone. You are much more likely to achieve your objectives and surpass your competition when you acquire the correct battle plan and the skills to put it into action.
I admit that I have a bias, and I believe a coach is the ideal person to assist with the typical ADHD traits that will inhibit effective and sustainable habits. A coach provides supportive assistance to help you develop strategies, develop and enhance current skills, and provide accountability to your plan of action. If not a coach, then a mentor, a trusted and objective friend or business partner.
Just don’t struggle alone!
The easy part is knowing, or learning what to do. The hard part is doing it consistently and effectively.
To Dream Or Not To Be
How often do you sit with your dreams, wishes, your fears and longings, waiting for the universe or Amazon delivery to bring change, success and good fortune to your doorstep?
Aspirations attained are most often determined by the actions you take, not by the activities of others, time spent waiting or the fates of the universe.
I believe successful entrepreneurs and business professionals are living, breathing examples of this credo. You better believe Walt Disney didn’t sit at home waiting for Mickey to knock at his door. Nope, he went into the back yard and scoured high and low until he secured that lovable little critter.
How many of us lose our potential for success by locking onto our self-doubt, fear of failure or our avoidance of outside judgment.
Many thriving entrepreneurs operate from a Ready, Aim, Fire mantra. That mindset at the very least gets them into the game. From there on success will depend on planning, persistence, perseverance and talent.
Too many of us sit for days, weeks, months and even years waiting for the prize we yearn for. Change is way more likely to emerge when we initiate the deliberate and focused actions required.
I hear it worked out really well for Walt and Mickey.