The real measure of any super achiever is not in how they operate during the good times, but rather how they respond, when faced with any challenges. People who have mastered their life, do not expect things to always go according to plan; they equip themselves with a set of tools, which will help them handle any curveballs, which may cross their path. The secret to invite success into your life and sustain it in the long term, is to be able to regroup quickly, when faced with any challenges and to get back in the saddle as soon as possible after you have been thrown off the horse.
Be Alert – Always Review and Look for Feedback
Create a habit of reviewing your progress as often as possible. The more often you are able to review your progress and to check for any warning signs, that things may be going off the rails, the sooner you can begin to take corrective action. Be vigilant and look for any warning signals, they are almost always there. Major changes and challenges usually give you a series of warnings, before they arrive on your doorstep.
Some of the clues might be crystal clear and easy to measure, like how many people have signed up to buy you product or is your social media strategy working – are people clicking through and buying what you have to sell. Other clues are a little more subtle, things like your emotional or energetic clues, where that little voice inside of you starts to get louder and louder, or you start to feel more stressed or distracted. These are usually signs that things are out of kilter. Learn to listen to your intuition, when your gut is telling you something is not connecting or something is out of kilter, it is usually correct.
Train yourself to pay closer attention to the external measurable factors as well as your internal warning systems. Listen to all the feedback you are receiving and you will be able to make the necessary course corrections, before things fall off the rails altogether. It is too late to do anything when you are in a boat, which is caught in the rapids, only 50 meters away from a waterfall and you have no paddles. The time to have taken corrective action was when the boat was many km away from the waterfall. In those calmer waters you could have easily paddled to the shore, cut some branches from a tree and fashioned a pair of oars for yourself.
Explore your Options
When faced with any challenge, resist the urge to; take the first solution, which pops into your head, as the new course to follow. Give yourself a chance to stop, assess the damage or potential for damage and then make calculated decision about the best course to follow. Very often all that is needed is a few small tweaks or improvements to keep the process on track, but on the rare occasion when the entire process is floored and no matter what you do, nothing seems to work, have the courage to go back to the drawing board and start over.
Keep the End in Mind
When reviewing your progress, always keep the end in mind. The more clarity you have about the outcome you want to achieve, the easier it is to assess how you are doing and to pre-empt any challenges. Examine your actions and see which of them are delivering the desired result and which are not. Ask yourself two simple questions:
· What should I be doing more of?
· What should I be doing less of?
Identifying what you should be doing more of allows you to see, where things are working. This allows you to prioritise and to put more resources, behind the things that are working. This simple strategy allows you to focus your resources where they are needed most, i.e. they deliver the best results.
When you ask the question what should I be doing less of? You shine the light on areas, where you are investing resources, but getting less than satisfactory results. This allows you to either stop or reduce these actions and gives you a chance to polish your approach toward overcoming any challenge.
Know Why Something is important to you
When you encounter any challenges or you are broadsided by something you didn’t see coming, it can be very painful. The easiest way to pick yourself up and get going again is to remember why you decided to achieve this goal in the first place. Remind yourself of your big reason why this is important to you, stay focused on your vision and begin taking positive inspired action as soon as possible.
Turn down the volume of your inner critic
Encountering challenges is difficult and stressful enough, without having to contend with a barrage of criticism from your own inner critic. Learn the art of offering compassion to yourself. Criticism serves no good purpose, all it does is weaken your resolve and disempower you. The most beautiful pearl starts out as a grain of irritating sand within the oyster. Think of any challenge you face in the same way, they are simply grits of sand that over time will turn into the most beautiful oyster.
Life does throw curve balls at us on occasion. Next time when you are caught off guard or needing to regroup after encountering a challenge, review the advice offered in this article and see if one or all of them can help you gain a little perspective.
Author: Andrew Horton Time Management Training
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