Christine Casey ~ Change Begins with Choice

In order to make your future bigger than your past, you first have to believe that it’s possible to have a bigger future, no matter what stage you’re at in life or what your circumstances are.  Often, this belief alone is enough to keep you growing.

It takes courage to think big and act upon it — start by making the decision to have a bigger future, no matter what circumstances may come your way.  Obstacles are an inevitable part of life, yet it’s how you respond that counts.  As Zig Ziglar said, “When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.”

Did you know that small steps keep you growing? Well…what exactly does this mean? After you have written down your goal(s), an example might be to take action every day toward your them.  A simple way to do this is break down your goal(s) into smaller “bite-sized” tasks that you can complete without becoming overwhelmed…remember, it’s by doing the small tasks that eventually lead to the big picture!

A bigger future is not necessarily about how much time you have left in your life, it’s about what you choose to do with the time you have left.  Regardless of  your circumstances, you can always choose to make your future bigger than your past — it’s simply a matter of choice and priorities.  Always use what you’ve learned to build upon a bigger future for yourself, and never stop learning.

Okay, so you may wonder, “Where do I start?” That’s a great question! Ask yourself a future-focused question. An example might be, “Where do I see myself in three years?” And follow with,  “What will need to change for me to make that possible?” And you continue to build from there…I think you get the point

Set goals: Creating goals for yourself will take you out of the past and creates a bigger future.  If you find it difficult to come up with meaningful goals, a great place to start is think of a few of your accomplishments from this past year and then what would represent a further achievement in each of these. By doing this simple exercise, you will begin to see what has been done, and what you need to do next!

A bigger future includes anything you want to see that’s improvement on what exists now.  Your future is your property…dream big!!!

If you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read here, find out more about how to make your future bigger than your past in Dan Sullivan’s book, “The Laws of Lifetime Growth”, from which this post shared about Law One of the book.

P.S. I appreciate you stopping by and would enjoy hearing your personal thoughts about making your future bigger than your past ~ please feel free to share in the comment box below. And, if you have found my post to be of value to you, and feel it would also be to others, then please free free to share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

In your quest for excellence, have you ever found yourself stuck (or worse quitting!) because you just could not figure out how to do something perfect?

Do you wonder what is the difference between the two?  Excellence is an attempt to perform a task in the best possible way, whereas perfection is the definite 100% right way of doing anything.  Excellence is something that all of us can aspire to ~ Perfection is seldom achievable by mankind.

Another way to think about it: excellence allows for occasional mistakes, yet perfection eliminates that possibility.  For example, if I expect perfection from myself, I’ll most likely fail every time!

Have you ever thought about how the two relate in our everyday lives?  Perfection is throwing one interception and losing confidence and Excellence is throwing five interceptions, yet coming back to lead your team to victory.  Perfection is performance based.  Excellence is always based upon improvement.  Perfection can make a victory become a failure. Yet, Excellence can turn a failure into victory.

What are some key differences between excellence and perfection:

• Excellence is willing to be wrong.  Perfection is being right.
• Excellence is risk.  Perfection is fear.
• Excellence is powerful.  Perfection is anger and frustration.
• Excellence is spontaneous.  Perfection is control.
• Excellence is accepting.  Perfection is judgment.
• Excellence is giving.  Perfection is taking.
• Excellence is confidence.  Perfection is doubt.
• Excellence is flowing.  Perfection is pressure.
• Excellence is journey.  Perfection is destination.

To best sum it up:  Perfection is not a goal, it is a fantasy.  Perfection can never be attained. Perfection is not part of our human world. ~ Excellence is attainable, and a very healthy goal for each of us to pursue.

Do you have a clear picture for what excellence looks like for you? Action steps you can take once you have your clear picture is to hold onto that image and take steps daily in that direction ~ whatever excellence is for you!

A great quote to leave you with, “No one is perfect…that’s why pencils have erasers.” ~ Unknown

P.S. I appreciate you stopping by and would enjoy hearing your thoughts on excellence or perfection,  so, please feel free to share in the comment box below. And, if you have found my post to be of value to you, and feel it would also be to others, then please free free to share it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with your “To-Do” list, and consequently did nothing?  We all have.

So, how can you get past this obstacle, and accomplish your tasks?  I have found that an approach to tackling any new project-and certainly a major life change-can be found in this Chinese proverb, which is “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

You can always find time to do one thing.  And, then another, and yet another.  By focusing on one step at a time, what you’ll find is that you create a bit of momentum that progressively brings  you closer to a goal — with each step, your life is slowly being transformed.

Personally, I have discovered that by writing down tasks (also known as “things to do”) every day, with my most important at the top, I keep focused and find that I accomplish much more than I would have otherwise.  Most people initially resist this suggestion, yet there’s an important reason to doing this: When you write down each step, you remove the guesswork and know your next step, so it’s more difficult to procrastinate.  And, you’ll consistently be reminded of what you need to do, and you’ll stay focused when life happens and something distracts you.

Believe me, if you will do this each day, you will keep moving and create momentum — and will be amazed at what you are able to get done each and every day…what a feeling!!!

Do you know what you want out of life?  Do you feel fulfilled?  In order to achieve a complete and happy existence, you must identify your goal in life — an objective that will give your life true meaning — your “WHY”.

The most important characteristic that enables people to stay the course through great difficulties is that they have a powerful purpose. Whenever you want to make any change in your life, the purpose behind your goal is more important than the goal itself. Did you know that?  In fact, it will keep you going when obstacles appear.  Notice I stated “when” they appear because obstacles are inevitable, it’s all about how determined you are to reach your goals that will assist you through these times.

Regardless of whether you want to start your own business, raise a family, travel the world or be a concert pianist, you can accomplish it once you specify what you want to accomplish and when.  Knowing your “WHY” intensifies your desire and commitment, and if you can create enough reasons why you want to make a change, there’s nothing that can keep you for reaching your goal.

What are some things that you can do to keep you moving in the right direction?

• Write down the goal that you’d like to achieve and list all the reasons why you MUST achieve it. Go ahead, make it a huge list of all the reasons that will excite and motivate you to stay in action every day. What are the specific benefits you will experience? How will you feel about yourself?  How will this victory impact your self-image and confidence? How will it benefit your loved ones?
• What will it cost you to not achieve your goal? Equally as important as identifying the benefits you will receive for achieving your goal, it’s just as important to identify the consequences of not achieving your goal. Give some serious thought about the consequences you’ll experience personally, professionally and spiritually if you don’t take the necessary actions each day to make your goal happen. What will it cost you if you don’t start working out consistently? If you don’t make the prospecting calls you need to make each day? If you don’t stop smoking? And as importantly, how will that make you feel? Our emotions drive our behavior, so fully connect with how it will feel if you don’t achieve your goal. You’ll be a lot more likely to take action and keep taking it if you regularly connect with the cost of not following through.
• Start every day by focusing on why you want to achieve your goal and the cost not to follow through. Every single day, think about how achieving this goal will positively impact other areas of your life.  Allow yourself to feel the joy and excitement that you’ll experience by honoring your commitments to yourself today to make that goal a reality.  And, just as important, review what it will cost you if you don’t achieve your goal. What will it cost you if you don’t start eating a healthier diet, lower your cholesterol, or save money for the future? And how will those consequences make you feel? Our emotions drive our behavior, so fully connect with the pain of failure to motivate you to take action.

I’d like to leave you with this final thought — isn’t it exhilarating to meet people who have a purpose and the drive to make it happen? Well, do you realize that can be you! Remember, goals give you sense of direction and something to get excited about.  Life’s journey will be much more enjoyable if you know your destination.  Take time to think about your goal(s) in life — your “WHY”.