Dani Spies

We’ll I’ll tell you what I’ve been trying to do.  DO IT ANYWAY!!

I have a quote that hangs right over my desk on my vision board that I look to as a daily reminder (it’s one of my favorites) and it says:

“Successful people make decisions based on their goals and values NOT their emotions.”

What a novel idea, huh?!  The first time I ever read this quote (In Stephen Covey’s, “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People) I had a major “AHA!” moment because I realized that more often than not I made decisions based on my emotions.  If I felt like going to the gym I would, I wouldn’t.  If I had planned out my to do list for the day but then didn’t feel like tackling it, I would just skip it and get it tomorrow.  If the laundry was lying on the bed to be put away and I couldn’t be bothered, I’d toss it the corner for the next day.  You see what I mean… the list can go on and on.

Emotions can come on pretty strong sometimes and I find if I don’t stay conscious and aware of the whims of my emotions I can easily make decisions that are not aligned with my personal values and goals.

Here are a few tricks I used to stay focused on my goals and not sucked into my emotions:
1.    I create a list at the beginning of every week of things that I want and have to get done that week.  Then I break them down into daily tasks and enter them into my weekly planner.
2.    I try to constantly read books about other successful people, learning from there journeys and their struggles.
3.    I start off each day either reading my book or writing in my journal, being sure to take few moments to visualize what I want to achieve. I find if I don’t connect some how to the bigger picture I have a harder time staying focused.
4.    I made a vision board that hangs over my desk as a constant reminder of where I am headed.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a work in progress.  But the more I practice the better I get:).
Sometimes I have weeks when I skip the weekly list or slack on my morning journal and with out doubt these are always the weeks that my emotions tend to have the stronger voice.  But I find if I take the time to create my list and plan ahead when my emotions start to kick in I just fall back to the plan. The plan i made when I was clear minded and focused on my goals.  This eliminates any opportunity for me to feel overwhelmed or confused and really puts a damper on some of the excuses me and my emotions will try tocome up with.  If I can’t decide what to work on or what the heck to do I just look at my list and keep on truckin’, regardless of my emotions.  I just do it anyway!

Do you guys ever find yourself getting swept up in your emotions and falling off track?  If so, what kind of tricks and tips do you use to stay on track.  When was the last time you didn’t feel like (fill in the blank) but you did it anyway??