Award Yourself for Staying Focused

Award yourself when you stay focused and on target!

She stood on the soccer field. It was her very first game. Her chubby little legs were ready to run toward the ball. Or were they? In a blink of an eye, she was bending over and picking a bright, yellow flower that was nestled in the grass.

She was not focused. However, it was understandable. She was only four years old.

Are you as easily distracted as a four-year old? Your immediate reaction to that is, “no, not me.” However, often, without thinking, we veer off in directions unrelated to projects important to reaching goals and realizing dreams.

Stay focused on your goals. Plan the necessary steps to reach them. Track the efforts and time you stay on target. Reward yourself when you do. Some ways to do that are: Mark that task off of the to do list with a strong flourish. Take a moment. Have a latte or a chai tea. Tell yourself, ”You did it!” Give yourself a high five. (That’s holding your hands up above your head and clapping them together once.) Look in the mirror. Smile. Laugh out loud! You are now ready to move to the next step necessary to reaching your goals!

Define Goals. Energetically Pursue. Face Challenges Head On.

Know your alphabet: D E F Define your goals. Energetically pursue them. And Face your challenges! Three more steps on your journey to success!

In the inimitable wisdom of Yogi Berra, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."

Define your goals. Write them down. Know where you are going. Store them in your memory in high definition. Save them on your computer. Know and visit them often.

Energetically pursue them. Put your heart and passion into it. It is simply amazing what you can accomplish when you use your energy to the fullest. Along the way, you will have challenges. Face them. Keeping your eyes on your goals, look your challenges straight in the eye. Face them head on and without missing a beat, stare them down and continue on your journey to success.

The only barrier between you and your alphabetized journey to success is knowing and applying your ABCs, or DEFs as is the case this time.

Actions. Beliefs. Commitments.

Know Your ABCs.

Whether you learned the alphabet at your mother's knee, from Sesame Street, Baby Einstein or in pre-school, everything you know, do, or accomplish is because you know your ABCs. Let's take the first three letters of the alphabet: A, B, and C.

A is for Action. Every goal requires action. No action. No momentum. Without momentum you barely maintain status quo. Take action to meet your goals.

B is for Beliefs. Awareness of beliefs you hold about yourself often lead to lack of action. A belief that you can't do something holds you hostage. A belief that you don't have the skills and/or tools you need to accomplish a desired goal stops any progress. Hold on to and expand the beliefs you have about your potential. Believing in yourself encourages action. Action builds momentum.

C is for Commitments. Commitment to your goals is a prerequisite to success. Keep your focus on your goals. Commitment overcomes adversities. Commitments made to others that are ALWAYS honored develop credibility. Credibility reflects integrity. All are additional requirements for your growth and success.

It's one thing to know your ABCs, it's another to use them. Take action!

Dateline: February 2, 2010. Dallas, Texas. There was sunshine in north Texas today and the groundhog saw his shadow ensuring that north Texas will have six more weeks of winter weather.

Myth or truth. Fact or fiction. Superstition or reality. We hold onto myths and superstitions to the extent that they hamper our progress. Will we have six weeks of bad weather? Chances are very slim. If we do, it will not be because the groundhog saw his shadow today.

What other superstitions do we hold onto, some of them of great renown and others of our own making. Walking around an historic downtown area recently, I had to make a choice. Do I walk under the ladder that was leaning against a building and across the sidewalk? Or do I ignore the superstition? I admit! I walked around it even though I had to step off of the sidewalk into the street.

You might say, it really didn't require much for me to walk around it. That's true. However, different kinds of myths get you in a stranglehold and keep you from moving forward. Myths of your own making. Consider the fear of success. There's no basis for that fear. Still it can keep you from moving forward. If you let it. Another case in point, lack of confidence in your ability. It's not something you can touch. It's a work of fiction that is actual only because it can keep you from moving forward.

Forget that the groundhog saw his shadow. Put myths, fictional ideas and superstitions aside. Good weather and accomplishments you can be proud of are in the forecast. The reality is believe in yourself. You can do anything you want to. You decide.