Where are you looking?
Where’s your focus? Are you looking forward?
Or are you looking backward?
Sometimes, it’s difficult to keep your eyes on where you’re going.
We’re all pretty busy looking where we’ve been when we really ought to be looking at where we are RIGHT NOW, and where we’re headed NEXT.
We’ll only get to where we want to be by building on the strengths we create and focus on TODAY … We will NOT get where we really want to be (and deserve to be) buy looking back at all the bullshit and woulda, coulda, shoulda of yesterday, or last week, or last month, or last year.
All that stuff? It’s excess mental baggage, it’s psychological BS, and it’s weighing …
us down. So, here’s my request to you today: ditch the shit! The past? It’s another country.
And you?
You’re far, far away. And still moving.
That’s what momentum and inertia are all about.
Once you get moving, KEEP MOVING by doing the same things that GOT you moving to being with. Seems pretty bloody obvious I know. And yes, I’ve been guilty of doing the exact opposite so believe me … I get it.
When we look back, as I’ve been doing rather too much of lately, it’s difficult to remain positive and motivated. We see all the garbage and crap that life, and the negative people we surround ourselves with (and we) have piled on ourselves.
When we focus on the rear view mirror, our eyes are not on the road ahead. When we tap the breaks, we drop gears and our momentum slows to a crawl.
If we focus too much on the past, we grind to a halt.
Not good.
Ever tried pushing a car? Heavy work when the weight is dead, isn’t it?
But as momentum grows, the car requires less effort to keep it moving.
The same rule of thumb applies to life and business.
Ya gotta keep pushing that car!
It all seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? Though my, my: how easy it is to slow down and down and down … “the weight of the world” upon us, the wind of change pushing against us. Until we stop.
A few weeks ago, I had a down day. One simple letter in Friday’s mail and all the good I’d done that day (and the progress I’d made in the previous four weeks) all went up in smoke. It was horrible!
All of the good stuff. Gone. Eroded. Poof! With just one letter.
Neither the content of the letter nor its sender are the issue here.
The issue … as with all issues was, and had been over those last two days, my reaction to both the letter and its sender and the underlying messages coming from each.
Now, let’s take this further in terms of communicated degree: the point here is not the sender or the letter because they’re both just vehicles. The point is the power of the message … either written or implied, … and the pictures each of those elements paints.
Read that again.
Recent events had pulled me down and down and down. My detractors had painted me as the bad guy; they’d painted pictures in my head and I’VE ALLOWED THEM TO! By doing this, I’ve given … literally handed over my power … to someone else!
By giving in to someone else’s negatives, we become the negatives; by listening to the devalued words of the other party, we become the devalued party.
How? BECAUSE WE PERMIT IT!
With what, you might ask?
With our “woe is me” attitude.
Our attitudes condition our states of mind. Our states of mind condition our emotions. Our emotions condition our actions. Our actions condition our thoughts. And our thoughts condition our attitude.
And around and around it bloody-well goes!
Hang on a second though, because all is not lost.
No. Not by a long chalk.
Why?
Because the opposite is also true. When you have an “I am awesome and I make a difference!” attitude, your attitudes condition your states of mind. Your states of mind condition your emotions. Your emotions condition your actions. Your actions condition your thoughts. And your thoughts condition your attitude.
And BAM! … from nowhere, your mood lifts, the fog burns away, and you’re rocking and rolling … and with a well delivered message that speaks to its recipient of that person’s awesomeness, THAT person’s attitude about YOU and your product changes too.
It’s way too easy to see the gloom in everything. That’s why the nightly news is so damn depressing. Media people have a saying: “If it bleeds, it leads!”
I’ve got a better idea: if it smiles, it takes you for miles! Over the coming weeks I’m going to get better here at following my own advice. So, if you want to lift your customer’s spirits, give them a message they can celebrate with … and in the words of Dr. Seuss from Oh, the places you’ll go!
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
