Make Today the Day That You...

The time is NOW!
 
I suddenly realized there are about 60 days left in 2017. In that split moment, things got real in terms of the promises I had made to myself and to others. It was a wake up call. 
 
I could hear a flood of things I still wanted to do or thought I would have done by now. I started to doubt some of my decisions, goals and deadlines. It all came crashing in and for a little while I was confused, overwhelmed and somewhat disturbed and frustrated with myself for not having done those things yet or to perfection or at least my standard of perfection. I was super busy. How could it be that it wasn't going to happen according to plan. I was no longer confident I had made progress in the right direction. Oh my, what could I do now to interrupt the time I had possibly wasted, the stream of negative thoughts and the wave of defeat? 
 
In that moment, all of my training, coaching and practicing kicked in. In the past, prior to training, coaching and practicing what I teach it would have taken days, weeks or months to work through it and figure it out. This time, by following specific steps and frameworks  it sorted out in in about 2 hours. 
 
I took a deep breath and let the wave of energy and emotion run through me as I told myself it's ok, relax, let's evaluate where things really are before you go off the deep end. In the past, I was no stranger to making things bigger than they needed to be so I frequently had to talk to myself into refocusing.  
 
Does any of that sound familiar? So what do you do in those situations? When you feel like your ladder is up against the wrong wall, when the dots are no longer connecting, when the list of what's ahead of you is longer than the lists you have already completed? How do you walk or talk yourself through? How long does it take to get back on track? 
 
If you can't relate to moments like this in your life, then I applaud you, for the work you have done to never, ever, ever, ever, ever doubt yourself, your decisions, what you have done or what you are currently doing. I marvel that as a human being you haven't from time to time been plagued with limiting or negative streams of thoughts that have the potential to derail your goals and dreams. However, being that we are all human, I doubt that this is really true that you haven't in the past experienced some of what I am talking about. If it's been a long time, don't worry you can certainly expect the shiny object to grab your attention and all of a sudden you are having your wake up call.   
 
So let's be honest here. You, like me have probably had signs long before this juncture in your thoughts or in your results and have ignored them. For me, I convinced myself that it was only temporary, things would get better. My thoughts were, I don't have the time, energy or money to do things differently. I minimized what would be different if I gave myself permission to stop more frequently along the way to check-in and be more strategic than tactical. To me, strategic is long-term, tactical is short-term. Going after short-term gratification can be seen as doing the same things and expecting different results. Not the most effective way to design your life because you keep creating that which you don't want.

I noticed several limitations in my past thoughts, words and actions. First, I hadn't given myself permission to be human. I had gotten in the habit of coaching myself rather than reaching out. I self-diagnosed and self-coached my challenges, transitions and changes. I relied solely on what I knew and could do alone. I had to work harder and longer to produce results that previously were easy. The worse it got, the more I isolated and shrunk into a very small version of who I knew myself to be. I was drained and burnt out. I had lost the joy of life.

Does any of this sound familiar? What I want you to know is you are not alone and you don't have to wait one more minute. Here are a few steps to

Make today the day that you...

Admit to yourself or others that something is not working.
Make a commitment to do something about it.
As yourself what do you really want to feel or experience in that situation or area of life?
Identify WHY? What's important to you about that experience, feeling or result?

Seek out professionals
Gain support
Set goals
Be willing to learn and acquire any skills or resources that you may need to move through the situation or challenge
Put time frames on your action steps
Check in frequently and evaluate your progress!

These are just some of the strategies that work for me and that I have supported and taught other people to think about and take action on in their lives.

It all starts with a willingness! You can do it! Your time is NOW!

If you are open, willing, teachable and coachable then Make Today the Day You......

I am here to partner with you on this journey!

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