We aren’t machines. After participating in so many activities, we feel drained, emotionally flattened and stuck. Yet, we seldom stop to allow our bodies to replenish our energy. Too often, time dictates our breaks, not our body. We are conditioned to think that when more needs to be done, we must increase the amount of time spent working and decrease the amount of time spent refueling. This thinking causes a strange sense of obligation to sacrifice our wellbeing due to the time crunch and demands of the situation.

While it may seem counterintuitive, during the most hectic of times, we actually need more time to recharge.

We have a primal need for pleasure and recreation—but, as humans with free will, we can choose to ignore this need, to overcome our instincts and go against nature. We convince ourselves that there is no limit to how far we can push ourselves, that just as science produces better, faster, more reliable and steady machines, we too can hone our abilities through modifying our nature. Many of us attempt to train ourselves to need less down time—to sleep less, to rest less, to cease less—to do more and stretch beyond our limits. But, like it or not, there is a limit, and if we continue to violate nature’s demands, to abuse ourselves, we will pay the price—individually and as a society. –Tal Ben-Shahar, Ph.D., Even Happier

In any area of your life, in order to recharge and get motivated, it’s important to give yourself permission to pause. These pauses provide you with the time and space needed to redirect your focus and energy. Over time, I’ve learned to take breaks and focus my attention on mini-activities that quiet my judgmental left-brain and ignite my inner passion. After these little timeouts, I usually discover that my productivity actually increases, as does the quality of my work.

A few activities in which I recently indulged:

Cleaning my office. Did I really need to re-organize all of my files last week? No. The files themselves could wait, but the act of organizing allows me to cleanse and recharge my mental energy. When I was done, I had the energy needed to get more done.

Creating a collage. I also didn’t need to make a collage, but the process of making art allows me to turn off part of my brain so that it can rejuvenate.

Writing in my journal. A couple of years ago, I started keeping a journal. It’s such a release for me at the end of the day to write, doodle, or tape photos to the pages.

In addition to taking breaks, it’s important to notice how you talk to yourself. Are you focusing more on what you don’t want to happen or what you DO want to happen? Do you ever say to yourself, “I am not going to procrastinate”? You probably have a laundry list of things that you don’t want to do. This list is draining your energy from what you want to be doing.

Pause and think about what you want to do. What do you want to work on today? Of course, you may not “want” to do everything that is on your plate; however, you do want to get it off of your plate, which will only happen if you take action. The key is to emphasize moving forward and to use language that supports your goals. You want to be your biggest cheerleader.

The Take-Home Message:

You are in control. Recognize when you feel drained and when you lack motivation. Rather than punishing yourself or focusing on what you should be doing, reconnect with your inner compass and determine what you want to do. Then, let the energy restoration begin!

When you are busy, what do you do to recharge? Leave a comment!

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Related posts:

1. Inspired Everyday Living: 14 Steps for Changing Habits that Create Clutter (Week 4)
2. 8 Ways to Steal “Me” Time
3. How to Create a Personal Relaxation Menu: Part 1

Recognize the Daunting Project

What projects are you resisting? Write down one project that you would particularly like to begin working on. Now that you have formally recognized that the project is a bit daunting, you have taken the first (and often the most difficult) step towards taking action.

Define Completion

It’s very hard to take a trip when you don’t know your destination, and the same goes for an action about which you are unsure. Define a specific, measurable, and exciting goal for the completion of that project. Of course, that daunting project may have specific milestones or goals defined by a boss or team, but redefine that goal into one that will motivate you personally. Steve Chandler, the author of 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, explains why he believes goals are often not reached.

“Usually, a goal is just a goal. But a power goal is a goal that takes on a huge reality. It lives and breathes. It provides motivational energy. It gets you up in the morning. You can taste it, smell it, and feel it. You’ve got it clearly pictured in your mind. You’ve got it written down. And you love writing it down because every time you do it fills you with clarity of purpose.”

In essence, you want to define completion objectively so that you know exactly what you’re working towards. You need to define it subjectively as well so that you are motivated and excited to take action. This combination taps into the strengths of both your left and right brain.

Cross-Examine Your Fears

Knowledge is power; however, some knowledge can reduce our personal power if it remains out of sight. With that in mind, write down all of the fears you’ve associated with the project. Then, take all of these fears and cross-examine them. Be ruthless. Determine how you can turn these strength-sapping thoughts into powerful, positive motivators for action. Yes, it sounds a bit far-fetched, but redefining your perspective to enable you to focus on creating-rather than worrying-is essential for personal success. For example, how often do you fear failure, imperfection, or the judgment of others? These fears are draining and really don’t do much to help you feel powerful and ready to tackle a daunting project. When I fear failure, I find it helpful to flip the switch and think about what I will do to create success. In essence, I define what will make me feel successful with regard to a specific project. What can I do to be proud of my work? I acknowledge the fears I have and then remove the power I’ve attached to them. It’s important to remember that we always have the ability to choose our personal perspective.

Create a Personal Road Map

As we start our trip, we must know at least two key points on the map: our place of departure and our destination. The area in between these two points represents the land of uncertainty. In order to take action, we must first plan a successful strategy. To do that, we need to divide our completion goal into more manageable sub-goals. Not sure how to begin? Research some ideas by looking online, offline, and asking others. But don’t let “research” overwhelm you.

Create limits on how much time you’re willing to spend on that research and when the time is up, stop! Then, explore what you found by creating mind maps, outlines, charts, or any other method that allows you to be creative and put the pieces together in a way that makes sense to you. Next, use all of this knowledge to determine mini-goals that you’ll use as benchmarks for your completion goal. Typically, I create 5 to 10 mini-goals for complex projects. A mini-goal may be to write the outline for a novel (main goal: write a novel) or determine the right project management system for your business (main goal: create a virtual business). Then, focus on one mini-goal at a time and break it down into specific, daily action items.

Action items and mini-goals will help you create a personal road map for the project. The key is to ensure that you create a map that is capable of changing. As obstacles arise, you must be able to modify your map. With this map, you should be able to see the details of the project and the big picture-both perspectives are critical when working on a complex project.

Track Your Progress

Keep a daily action log so that you recognize that you are indeed taking action. Clearly, it’s sometimes difficult to understand that we’re taking action when the results are not immediate; after all, we’re very accustomed to instant gratification. A daily action log will also help you see what’s working and what still needs some tweaking. It’s helpful to be able to understand when something seems to be preventing you from moving forward. Most importantly, track your progress so that you can reward yourself for taking action. Positive reinforcement is essential to overall success both personally and professionally.

How do you take action on daunting projects?

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image: jessica swift

Related posts:

1. Get More Done #2: How to Set Powerful Goals and Take Meaningful Action
2. Dare to Turn Knowledge into Action
3. What Are You Waiting For? 4 Steps to Begin Taking Bold Action

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face… we must do that which we think we cannot.

- Eleanor Roosevelt

What allows some people to eclipse the realm of the possible? Are they really the exceptional ones, or is there more to the equation than mere luck?

Unconventional success redefines what we consider possible—it’s success that has not yet been defined by others. Essentially, it means paving a path through unchartered territory.

Over the past ten years, I have followed my personal vision, which has led me into uncharted territory on many occasions. Only recently have I begun to share my life with the world and to my surprise, I have been flooded with questions. People want to know more about the secrets behind what I’ve achieved. Reflecting on this question, I believe there are three essential ingredients in overcoming the mental barriers that prevent us from achieving unconventional success.

1. Focus on “What” not “How”

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
-Herman Cain

The first step in achieving anything is defining your vision. As a start, begin with this powerful question: “What do I want?” At this point, the “how” doesn’t matter since worrying about it only weakens your mental aptitude. Sometimes the question of “what” is easy to answer while at other times doing so is next to impossible. After all, the answer can be buried in guilt and other rationalizations of what you believe you should be doing. So it’s critical to focus on your inner knowledge and filter through the extrinsic variety; after all, you want the clearest mindset you can have.

Four years ago, for example, I decided that I wanted to write a book that would change the world. I knew what I wanted, and that knowledge was a tremendously powerful feeling. So I knew the what: I wanted “to write a book,” and I knew the why: because I wanted “to change the world.” Talk about lofty goals to write down on a to-do list! But I focused on the goal instead of becoming mired in the intricate details about how I would actually accomplish it. In fact, I never purchased a book about writing, publishing, or any related how-to guide. Now, I realize that my omission was key among the reasons I was able to focus relentlessly and fearlessly on such a grand goal—I didn’t care about the “how.” Instead, I believed passionately that I would achieve my goal.

2. Have the Courage to Redefine “How”

Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you’re scared to death.
- Early Wilson

Once you have a vision of what you want, the next ingredient you’ll need is courage. Courage is associated with bravery and overcoming fear, and in order to find that courage, we must give ourselves permission to choose a different path, to be unconventional. In his blog post, Permission to Think Big, Alex Shalman discusses how we need to create a mindset for success:

Most of our decisions in life are based on whether or not we can give ourselves permission to tackle the big things. Whether or not we give ourselves permission is based on the amount of courage and self-esteem that we possess…Remember, if you’re going to listen to conventional wisdom, and follow everyone else’s advice, then you’re probably going to get the same results as everyone else. If you decide that’s not good enough for you anymore, make your own rules.

Now that is what I call powerful advice! Essentially, Alex is suggesting that you write your own playbook, and I couldn’t agree more.

When deciding “how” to write a book that would change the world, I realized that I needed to create the playbook Alex was writing about. When I decided that failure was not the outcome I was looking for, I also realized that I was willing to make tremendous sacrifices to create that unconventional success. But in doing so, I had to reach the lowest point in my life before I could learn the real quality of perseverance. After all, how could I persevere on a path that no one had ever taken before? Nevertheless, I resolved to answer the question and didn’t let anything stop me.

3. Choose to Persevere

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, “Press on,” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.
- Calvin Coolidge

What does it mean, “to persevere?” Soon enough, that “what” of writing the book that will change the world will be realized (i.e., in less than three weeks!). Rather than feeling as if our lives are filled with mountains of negativity, we must replace them with hope that is fueled by perseverance. To achieve any type of success—conventional or otherwise—you must have hope that you will succeed. That means going through the good and bad times without losing that valuable perspective on hope and possibility. In short, it’s a little thing I like to call Perseverance.

I’ve decided to end this post with the words of Alex Oden, a two-time brain cancer survivor, college student, close friend, and one of the twenty individuals featured in Perseverance.

The most important thing in life: hope. Hope is the most empowering feeling a person can possess. As long as there is hope, there is a reason to keep living. As I have said before, life is a gift; we only get one chance at it. If there is a possibility for success, no matter how small, then there is hope. Life is too precious to give up hope.

Future Directions

Throughout history, individuals have redefined what we recognize as the realm of the possible. In my next post, I will focus on modern-day pioneers who can open your eyes to an entire world of possibilities. Then, we’ll look at how you can take these three key ingredients, combine them with the examples given by these pioneers, and create your own unconventional success. I’m giving you a glimpse at what it takes to do what you want to do, regardless of the myriad obstacles you’ll encounter. Of course, if you think it’s easy, you’re in for a BIG wake up call! To be fair, I won’t hold anything back. You’ll learn everything it takes to push you to where you want to go. Then, you’ll need to decide for yourself if the sacrifices are worth the journey. I certainly wouldn’t give up a single moment of what I’ve done, since without having encountered the struggles or making the sacrifices, I would not be living authentically. Today, I can say wholeheartedly that I am living my dream.

Are you excited? I hope so! Remember, nothing is required other than a willingness to reach deep inside yourself to find the strength you need to follow your dreams.

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Related posts:

1. 10 Inspirational People Who Have Redefined the Road to Success (Part Two)
2. How Important is Your Mind-Set?
3. 10 Inspirational People Who Have Redefined the Road to Success (Part One)

How often do you think to yourself, “I really need more to do?”

It is natural for most passionate people to fill their buckets with a bit too much at some point in their lives. Well, since it’s natural, does that mean we should just push forward and ignore our current state? Our rational selves would likely answer, “No!” So intellectually, we know we should be doing less. Still, that knowledge doesn’t translate easily into change.

Personally, I justify doing “too much” because I feel I have no other options. Soon enough, I become stuck in a cycle, thinking that I simply have to deal with the pressure and get through that particular episode. Of course, thoughts like those leave me feeling pretty defeated. Add to those the opposing thoughts of “I really am doing too much,” and you’ve created a pretty strong opposing team. Why? Because none of these thoughts give you any insight into how you can turn that knowledge into change; that is, without moving to a deserted island with no Internet service. Unfortunately, that’s not really an option for me right now.

Negativity feeds negativity, which leaves one with precious little internal strength. Because of that conundrum, we’re often left feeling helpless and continue doing “too much” just because we don’t know what else to do.

An Alternative Perspective

A quote by Robert Holden offers us a different way to consider our options:

As we become even more strongly addicted to the pursuit of happiness, we are in no way prepared for happiness when it arrives.

Will you let the pursuit of what you’re doing (which is almost always too much) conceal your ability to enjoy life and the fruits of your work? Well, if you value internal happiness, you won’t let this happen. So how do you create the space you need and room enough to breathe without dropping everything?

The Hardest Part

Many times, I’ve resisted thinking about this question by responding quickly, “I don’t have a clue!” In reality, however, we know exactly what we must do. It’s just a struggle to actually do it.

Answer these questions as honestly as you can.

-> Why are you doing too much? In other words, what are the goals of this work?
-> What can you sacrifice to create the breathing room you need?

Then comes the hard part; actually making the required sacrifice.

Is it worth it? Well, that’s for you to decide. For me, the answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

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Each week, I post on Psychology Today and the Huffington Post. To read the most recent posts, please click the links below. I greatly appreciate your support!
Huffington Post – 10 Ways to Nourish Your Inner Zen: Part Two
Psychology Today – How to Take on a Daunting Project

Related posts:

1. 3 Essential Ingredients for Creating Unconventional Success
2. 11 Ways to Find Serenity Amidst Chaos
3. How to Recharge and Get Motivated