Creating with intention
Stop fighting and relax. Instead of trying to confront obstacles head on, look for ease. Can you infuse confrontations with love? Bring fluidity into challenging situations? Maybe you feel stuck. Sometimes desired outcomes happen as a result of less effort, not more.
When you’re feeling the heat at work or at home, weave cool and refreshing resources into the mix. More fire just adds more flames.
An amateur hopes a goal will happen. The professional sets a goal then works backwards.
An amateur cuts with words. Professionals look for ways to raise their own game while lifting others alongside them.
An amateur relies on hope. The professional acts and demonstrates results.
The amateur seeks attention. The professional graciously accepts accolades, then continues to focus on the work.
An amateur always plays victim. The professional acknowledges missteps and learns from mistakes.
Amateurs operate from a scarcity mentality. Professionals are generous.
An amateur puts in a little work and expects instant results. The professional plays the long game, day in and day out, sometimes without pay, knowing that rewards will come.
An amateur is impatient, reactive, and compulsive. Professionals ground themselves, reflect, and listen.
Amateurs alienate themselves. True professionals know the value and importance of relationships.
An amateur speaks of people. The professional would rather work, plan, dream, and create.
Amateurs fail to set boundaries and struggle to ask for their worth. Professionals are kind, but firm, and aren’t afraid to ask for what they need.
An amateur rarely has routine. Professionals schedule days with intention.
To learn more about becoming a professional, I recommend Steven Pressfield’s Turning Pro. This free ebook is also a great place to start if you’re looking to turn amateur habits into professional ones.
If find your concentration veering or feel easily distracted, your efforts are probably not fully focused. Without directing your power, the goals you have set for yourself will remain just that – goals, with no clear outcome.
It is worth tracking your thoughts and daily activities to see where your energy “leaks” are. Scheduling your routine accordingly can help you counter those moments in which you find yourself unproductive and unmotivated.
Unharnessed energy is wasted energy.
Choose wisely:
Take as needed.
What do you see?
Opportunity or obstacle?
Loneliness or space to create?
Connection or obligation?
Necessity or investment?
Inconvenience or growth?
Pain or lesson?
Those who are against you or those who push you to do better?
The difference between success and defeat is often a matter of perspective. Track your thoughts. Record the way you see the world. It may be time for a change.
When setting big goals, most people tend to focus on the future: The changes they hope to see and the results they want to bring about.
Yet those who find the most success know that while it is imperative to have a clear understanding of desired impact and outcome, it is equally important to reflect on the past.
What has worked, and what hasn’t? What already exists and how can that be improved?
Reflection also helps identify progress, a necessary element to encourage a chosen path or the perspective needed to make refining adjustments.
Before setting goals for the year to come, make time to consider what has worked for you — and what hasn’t. Goals are great, but they have a higher chance of coming to fruition when based in thoughtful research and careful consideration.