A blog about getting things done filled with clichés that have proven the test of time.
What are the things we say when we aren’t as happy as we want to be, we haven’t lost the weight we want to lose, we feel our lives haven’t become what we wanted them to or we didn’t get the promotion we thought we deserved?
Nothing has ever been accomplished, either great or small, without intention.
Definition: Intention – an aim or plan.
What’s Your Intention?
What is one thing that you want different in your life? Go ahead, name it.
This takes courage
Now, what's your intention about that thing? In other words, what are you aiming at or what is your plan? In order to change that thing, you must step back and start at the beginning.
- If you want to lose weight, you must look at what you’re eating and how much you move your body
- If you want a different kind of relationship, you must figure out how your thinking or actions need to change
- If you don’t want to be sick, you must figure out what makes you well
- If you want to meet a physical challenge, you must figure out how to get your body to do that
- If you want to increase the revenues of your business, you must figure out if your product needs improvement, how to increase your sales, and who your new customers will be
Only Work on Things You Can Control
Now you can at look your intention and see what things are within your control. Your intention or plan can't be ‘hoping’ and ‘wishing’ things will change. Your intention has to do with the next step you must take to get there. It may be choosing to eat right, choosing what to think about, investing time or money towards a specific cause or coming up with strategies to change things.
This takes wisdom
Let me give you an example. Lately I have been frustrated because my stomach has been bothering me while I run. Today it dawned on me that this is something that I haven't been intentional about. My problem certainly has to do with what I eat and when I eat it. Those are things I can control. There may be other factors but that’s not going to stop me from making a change to find out if taking some intentional steps works to cure my frustration (and my stomach ache).
Take it One Step at a Time
The next thing to do is to take it one step at a time. As they say, 'Rome wasn’t built in a day!'
- Your relationship didn’t get this way overnight
- Your body didn’t suddenly become overweight or exhausted
- If you want to climb a mountain, it will take time and effort to get you to the top
- If you want to increase the revenue of your business, there are specific steps you'll need to take
Taking a step regardless of whether or not you're sure it'll work is something you must do.
This takes faith
You must have faith in the process, faith in yourself or maybe faith in the person who told you this step would be a good idea. If we don’t take the step because we’re not sure it will work . . . 100% of the time it will not work. In golf we say, never up, never in. In other words, the ball can’t fall in the hole if you don’t get it there!
Many Small Steps
Each one of these small steps is just that, . . . a step. It may work, it may work for a while, it may take a long time to work, it may ‘kind of’ work or it may not work at all.
Every great thing accomplished takes many small steps.
This takes perseverance
Winston Churchill famously said ‘Never, never, never give up. We can’t take this 'one small step' thing lightly. We must have tenacity and stick-to-itiveness. If we give up, . . . we are sure to not make change.
Life
Life is a series of small steps. It’s that simple.
Say these things out loud to yourself:
Courage - If I want to make a change, I must have intention.
Wisdom – If I focus on what I can control, I will be able to take steps forward.
Faith - If I’m willing to take a small step today and then take another one tomorrow, eventually those small steps will take me somewhere.
Perseverance - I won't get discouraged if my small step doesn't work, I'll take another one and keep moving in the right direction.
Joy - If I enjoy the process instead of wanting the prize now, I'll be joyful all along the way.