4 STEPS TO SUCCESS

4 steps to a productive day in a flow state!

Have you ever noticed that some days you seem to be on top of the world – and everything flows brilliantly!  

You wake up full of energy, you experience a sense of ease in getting things done. 

Nothing seems to get in your way – and things simply go well.  

Then there are those “other days”. 

You feel like you have cement in your shoes, your brain isn’t clear, things seem to be a struggle, getting the simple of tasks accomplished feels like swimming in your sweat pants and jumper.

Things just seem to go from bad to worse!

What if we could manage that process?  What if we could find the keys that could make the difference and help us to have far less of those ugly days – and many more of the light and productive days? A productive day in a flow state!

Would that be useful to you?

 

Let’s investigate the formula for having wonderful and productive days!

A productive day in a flow state

 

The first “M” – is all about managing your own mindset.  For those of you who have encountered Alive & Kicking before – you know that we place a great deal of importance on the ability to stay “above the line” – or realising that we are in complete control of our own feelings, emotions, and results – we can CHOOSE our attitude.  We also spend a lot of time talking about the power of the mind and the connection the mind has to our outcomes and results in life.

OUTCOMES:  

  • Controlling the internal voices – you have a voice (negative or positive)
  • Staying focused and positive – do you lose focus when things get tough?
  • Calm the Emotions – do you know how to calm your emotions?
  • Accessing creativity – be able to access creativity – you ARE creative.

Learn to visualise what you want

Learn to focus your attention on that thing – and keep working on the internal focus and language so that there are no competing negative thoughts that happen along with your visualisation.

Visualisation and focus are great – and they are an integral part of the success journey.   They are, however, by no means the end of the story.   Just because you visualise something strongly, doesn’t mean that it will instantly materialise.   There is the issue of taking action!

Most of us know what to do to be healthy and have a fit body.  The challenge is always – DOING THESE THINGS CONSISTENTLY!

 

So now we address the second “M” – Motivation.

 

Our first issue is the difference between motivation and inspiration!  Inspiration is a feeling you get.   Motivation is the energy and the burst into action.   Example.  Have you ever watched the Olympics and felt inspired by the greatness that you were witnessing?  How about watching the Para-Olympics?   Do you get inspired by these people who achieve amazing things and overcome adversity and incredible life challenges?   Yes, most of us feel that way.  Our spirits are lifted and we feel a sense of great appreciation and gratitude and recognition that the human being is a limitless and amazing creature.

Inspiration, however does not always turn into motivation – or the impetus to take action!   You may watch the Olympic swimming – and think to yourself:  “I’m going to start swimming again – I could use the exercise and I really do enjoy swimming.”   But do you take the action?  Or do you simply fall back into the same old routine that you currently have

So what do we do? – LEARN TO RECOGNISE MOMENTS OF INSPIRATION AND TURN THE M TO MOTIVATION!

There must be a catalyst for action!   There must be a compelling reason and a plan.  This is all about Goal Setting and action planning!

This is the Master Plan.   They key is to create an overall outcome and then break the process down into lots of finite little steps.  Then TAKE THE FIRST STEP!

Here is where the CYCLE BEGINS!

When Action is taken – Momentum is created!  

HERE WE GET TO THE 3RD M – MAINTAIN MOMENTUM – When momentum exists, it affects the mindset – and we want to do more.  We are then motivated to take another action!  Then more momentum is created and the cycle continues.

This is called FLOW STATE!  Actions inspire actions.

Think about cleaning your house.  Once you take the first action, you’ve done the dishes – and you feel proud.  You are then inspired to wipe the counters down – you feel even better.  Then you think, well I still have a full sink of hot and soapy water, so I might as well wipe out the inside of the fridge – then you feel like you’ve really accomplished something.

LEAD TIME VERSUS LAG TIME

In order to create REAL momentum – you must continue to operate in LEAD TIME.   Lead time is when you’ve done something a bit extra.   Get up 1 minute earlier.  You are now in lead time.   Do one more thing, take one more step.

The opposite of this is LAG time.  Lag time is created when you are running late, not doing what you intended to do – and especially – being REACTIVE instead of PROACTIVE.

THE FINAL M – THE MASTER PLAN – So, let’s get back to the Master Plan – as this is where it all begins!

RRA

RESULTS – WE ALWAYS GET RESULTS – The question is whether they were the results you wanted or not!

What do you want?  What is the desired result?   It’s amazing to me that many people neglect to ask themselves this question – much less come up with an answer!   It should be asked in every facet of your life.

For my home – what do I want?  

For my work – what do I want?  

For this project – what do I want?

And get specific!  What EXACTLY do I want?   What does it look like, smell like, taste like, sound like, feel like?

REASONS – REASONS GIVE YOU INSPIRATION!    Why do I want this?   This is the real compelling factor that can get motivation happening.   Why is this important?  Why should I do this?  Why will this be good for me?  Why will not having or doing this be bad for me?

ACTIONS – ACTIONS CREATE AND MAINTAIN MOMENTUM – ACT UNTIL. . . .

What can be done now?  What are all the steps?  What are some steps?  What step comes next?

Lets quickly review the 4 M’s of success.

  1. Manager you MINDSET! PRACTICE BEING POSITIVE
  2. Manifest MOTIVATION – take the first step!
  3. Maintain Momentum – Create LEAD TIME! & Keep taking actions – even the smallest ones will keep you in momentum.
  4. Do Master Planning – RRA

Good Luck – go an achieve a productive day in a flow state!

 

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