The Past is But Ashes

I had a colleague that was in sales. He had a sales manager that each month would say to his team when they would hit their revenue goal, "The past is but ashes, what will you do next month?" Seems a little harsh but I guess from a sales manager's perspective you don't want your people to sit too long on their accomplishments and want to push them toward success in the next month, next quarter and next year.

Tied to this same concept is the statement, "Past performance is no guarantee of future success." In some cases, I am sure this is very true. There are some authors and musicians that are considered to be "one hit wonders." They achieve a measure of success one time and are then unable to replicate the success. Even worse, they become satisfied and lazy with their initial success and don't push themselves towards excellence a second time.

A key point in all of this is the fact that just because you were successful once doesn't mean that you are guaranteed automatic success. It will probably take just as much hard work, blood, sweat and tears as it did the first time. The nice thing about the second time is that you do have the past experience and the taste of success that drives you toward success again. Push yourself towards success again and again. Don't sit around in the ashes.

Being in the Now

Do you ever find yourself thinking too much about the past? Do you think of a better time when you were happier, skinnier, got more sleep or when gas was just 99 cents?

Do you find yourself thinking too much about the future? Some day when you will have more money, when you will have a new job, when the kids are older or you have that new car?

There is nothing wrong about doing a little reminiscing. It is a good thing to learn from the past. And it is also a good thing to have positive dreams and set goals for the future. But be sure that you spend plenty of time, being in the now. The now is when you will get the work done that will pay off for a brighter future. The now is when you can make up for the past or improve on what you have already accomplished. It is important to focus and be in the now, especially in your relationships, your day-to-day work and personal conversations (not to mention when you are driving a car). Otherwise, you will be distracted, the quality of what you do will be poor and you will have more and more occasion to say, "should of, would of, could of."

The Mental Weight Is What Squashes Us

In a pre-program conference call with a client, we received some initial resistance to our training because they thought we would be telling people you can't get everything done (which, of course you can't). Their concern was that people would adopt that mentality and start "slacking off." We had a good laugh on that one.

The reality is that most of our stress comes from the mentality that we can get it all done. Our minds are constantly racing with all that could be undertaken, thereby reducing our productivity on what COULD be done. We don't plan well because we reason that there will be time to get everything done. We hold on to tasks that should be delegated because we envision unlimited resources of time. And we sacrifice the urgent for the important because we falsely believe that there will be time for the important later.

If you are weighed down by the thoughts of all you have and want to do-you're juggling elephants. Try applying the circus metaphor to your situation. Be the ringmaster of your circus, create the right lineup and work with those performers more effectively. You might even find you are getting more standing ovations from the most important person in your audience-yourself!

Strength Training For The Ringmaster

We frequently hear the phrase, "I just find myself jumping from one ring to another, rarely getting anything done well." While our work or life situation may encourage that behavior, we ultimately have to exercise more self-control to combat this ineffective habit.

USA Today recently had an article with some good tips about improving your self-control and willpower. Read the article and pick up some helpful ideas, including:

• Find smart trade-offs
• Reduce temptations
• Reward yourself with feedback

Try practicing one or two of the strategies today and build up your mental muscle. The elephants aren't getting any smaller.

Uninterrupted Time

With so much to do and so many opportunities, you might feel like you are constantly jumping from one activity to another.  It also seems like every 30 seconds or so there is a beep, ring, whirl, or interruption that begs for your attention.  One might argue that this is the working and living environment that we now live in - so you just have to deal with it.  The challenge then becomes, when do you get the real work done?  In some jobs, it is a full time job to just manage email.  Unfortunately, you have other responsibilities too.

In this day and age, it is vital to carve out time where there are no interruptions and that you can focus on accomplishing the things that matter most to you.  This environment must be clutter free.  In this environment you should be able to turn off the devices and notifications and concentrate.  It might not be realistic to be in this environment all day long, but you should schedule time in your day where you can think and focus on what it is you need to accomplish.  At first you might have trouble focusing because you are so use to jumping from one urgent thing to another.  But, with a little time and practice, you will be able to think more clearly and with that will come improved quality to your work.