Success with Ease
By Caterina Rando, MA, MCC
Some people are very successful on their own terms. They don't
rush to the next appointment, rush to get off the phone or rush
to get a package to the post office. They are confident they will
achieve their goals, while enjoying their work and having full personal
lives.
Many of us believe that we have to work hard from before sun up
to after sun down to accomplish anything. This is not living, it's
existing and doing it too long will strip you of your joy for life
and passion for your work.
Instead of asking ourselves how we can make things easier, we do
things the hardest way possible. We write a proposal from scratch
when a reworked previously written one would work fine. We write
letters where emails would work. We enter computer data when it
would serve us to hire someone else to do it. We don't allow down
time between appointments, accept deadlines that are only possible
at the expense of sanity, agree to drop something off when it is
our preference to ship it, do a project alone when it would be much
more fun to do it with an associate, and over-commit ourselves with
community organizations to the point that people think it is our
full time job. If any of this sounds like your life, I invite you
to stop, take a deep breath, decide what you want to change and
make an agreement with yourself to begin to pursue a life of success
with ease.
There are ways of living and thinking that promote ease and support
you. Success with ease is nurturing and making yourself a priority.
Success with ease is taking a stand for the way you work, committing
to having your work contribute to you as much as it contributes
to others. Success with ease is enjoying your work, the process
and the results while enjoying yourself and the other aspects of
your life. Adopt some of these ideas to add more ease to your work
and the rest of your life.
Expect Ease
Release old ideas that pain and suffering are necessary to achieve
success. Reprogram your thinking throughout the day with these statements
"Success comes to me with ease." "I move through
my life with ease."
Know Your Priorities and Live By Them
Make choices based on what areas of your life are most important.
Consider different aspects: physical health, emotional health, friends,
family, significant relationship, career, home, personal growth,
finances, recreation. Which areas are a priority for you right now
and which areas are not? Assess opportunities based on how they
will impact your priority areas. For example, if you are invited
to go skiing with a friend for the weekend, you would go if friends
or recreation were your priority areas. If home, significant relationship
or finances were your priority, you might choose to pass on this
opportunity.
Make Decisions Quickly/Act Quickly
Once you have your priorities in order, making decisions becomes
easier. Even though most decisions we make are not major decisions,
we frequently take too long to make a choice, pondering possible
outcomes over and over. Do not waste your brain power. Decide quickly
- do it or don't do it, go or don't go, decide then move on.
De-Clutter Your Life
Do you have too much stuff in too many places? If so, get rid of
it. It takes up precious space, causes confusion and sucks the energy
out of you. Clean your closets, your desk drawers, your pantry and
every other place that is in disarray.
Use Daily Success Practices
Certain things can increase the quality of your day, like getting
enough sleep, taking a walk, leaving your desk organized, planning
yourself for tomorrow. Daily Success Practices are both personal
and professional. Do not give yourself a long list of more things
to do. Choose one or two impactful Daily Success Practices for a
week. See how well you integrate them and, if you find they support
you, consider bringing more in.
Plan Breaks in Advance
Sometimes we think that the sky will fall if we take a vacation,
go away for a long weekend or even take an afternoon off. If you
plan for time away, you will easily be able to get away, without
having to reschedule, cancel, juggle, delegate and rush to get things
done. Take a stand for yourself and give yourself needed breaks.
Say No More Often
When a coaching client talks to me about being overwhelmed, the
first question I always ask is, "How many commitments do you
have outside of your work and your family?" Often, the answer
is clearly the reason why the person feels overwhelmed. The unknown
author of the often used quote "no good deed goes unpunished"
probably regularly said yes when they really wanted to say no. When
you say "no" someone may be disappointed; however, that
disappointment probably lasts about five minutes until they contact
someone else to pick up the slack or find another solution. Start
saying "no" and see how good it feels.
Don't Worry
We spend too much time worrying about the future and the past. Yesterday
is a memory, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a truly gift. That
is why they call it the present." Put your attention and thinking
on what you can change. Release worrisome thoughts. They do you
no service and can create mental and emotional havoc that makes
no contribution to your life.
Create Support
We can all use more support. Support comes in many forms and can
help us in a variety of situations. Support can be a walk with a
friend, a cup of tea in the afternoon with a colleague you respect,
hiring a neighborhood teenager to mow your lawn, take your dog for
a walk or take your boxes to Goodwill. Support is getting a massage
once a month, hiring an assistant, bookkeeper or a business coach,
getting your groceries delivered to your door. Where can you use
more support? Go get it!
You can be more successful and have more ease by putting your attention
on these ease-enhancing ideas. Watch the ease begin to flow in your
life.
Caterina Rando, MA, MCC, is author of "Learn
to Power Think," a keynote speaker, success coach and trainer. She helps
people invigorate their professional and personal lives and create the results
they want. To find out about her book and other resources, visit www.caterinar.com.
Caterina can be reached at 800-966-3603 or by email at cpr@caterinar.com
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