“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start being excited about what could go right.”
Tony Robbins
There are always things that can and will go wrong. Understand this, and you will be free to embrace all the things that can and will go right as long as you have put in the work.
When you free your mind from the paralyzing effects of fear, you can get excited about the future. When you are excited, your work will have more energy, and the enthusiasm you have will positively affect those around you. And this is exactly when things start to go right…
“Trade your expectations for appreciation and your whole world changes in an instant.”
Tony Robbins
What expectations are you placing onto others which can be replaced with gratitude? How can you spend today showing appreciation for what they do for you instead of what you can get from them?
When you exchange your expectations and demands of the world and others and CHOOSE to be grateful, your entire experience of life changes; others’ perceived wrongs and injustices lose their power and the hold they have over your heart and mind.
“It’s not about achieving the goal. It’s about who you become in order to achieve the goal. The juice is in the growth.”
Tony Robbins
Perhaps an alternative way to think about this is to turn the quote inside out. Have you ever achieved a goal that you desperately wanted, and hated the person you became through the process? I position it this way not to be a “Debbie downer” but to illustrate the power of purpose and the importance of choosing the right goals for our lives.
Perhaps we should stop making our plans based on achieving some specific thing or outcome, but instead, we should select our targets based on the process of growth that we will have to complete to make them a reality. Maybe we should choose our goals based on who we want to become through the journey.
Let me share a simple example. Several years ago, my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time) and I traveled to Colorado and climbed Mt. Yale, one of Colorado’s famous “14’rs” (mountains that have their peak above 14,000 feet). We started just after daylight and achieved the summit just before midday. We enjoyed a few minutes at the top of the mountain, took some pictures, and then headed back down the trail for our 6-mile hike back to our car. My memories of that day, and most of the pictures we took along the way, are of the journey. It was the entirety of the shared experience, what it meant for our burgeoning relationship and a discovery of a shared passion for challenging hikes that made the journey meaningful and impactful. Achieving the goal was nice, but it wasn’t the thing that truly mattered. What happened along the way was what was actually important.
Do you choose mountains in order to achieve the summit or do you want to soak in the experience of the journey along the way? “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” Matthew 16:26 ESV
Is it the achievement of the goal that matters or who you become in pursuit of the RIGHT GOALS that is truly important?
“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and start being excited about what could go right.”
Tony Robbins
Do you want to spend your precious life afraid or excited? Do you want to live fearfully or with enthusiasm?
It’s your choice. You can do one of two things. You can change your circumstances or you can change your attitude.
Fear is a choice.
Excitement is a choice.
Find something that excites you. Focus on the opportunities, not the failures. Get knocked down and then get back up. If you lean forward and choose excitement, things have a way of working out for the best…
“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”
Tony Robbins
What are the goals you have set for your life? Do you have them written down? Have you created an action plan with specific steps you are taking to make sure achievement isn’t accidental but is purposeful and intentional?
Or are your goals more like your dreams, somewhat half-remembered when you wake up in the morning and completely forgotten when you go to bed each night? Perhaps then your goals are more like the nightmares waking you in the middle of the night in a panic because you suddenly realize the year is half gone and you haven’t made any progress…
Life isn’t accidental. We were all put here for a purpose, and then given the opportunity to choose how we spend our time. If we choose to live in a dream like state, merely existing our way through our days, then we can have no regrets and blame no one else if we fail to become all that we are possible of being. It is a choice that we make each and every day when we decide if we are going to use our time purposefully or merely let it slip through our fingers.
As I reflect on the quote above I am reminded of the wisdom of Solomon which was recorded in the book of Proverbs. Specifically these words: ‘Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. ‘ Proverbs 4:25-26
Where is your gaze fixed today? Do you have a plan and are you focused on achieving it? Are you striving to master some skill or talent in order to reach or goals? Are you relentlessly focused?
“Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!”
Anthony Robbins
I can’t remember an individual year where I looked back and was satisfied that I had achieved all my goals and all that was possible for a given year. But when looking back over a decade, now that’s a different story. Over a 10-year period so much will have changed and there are so many things that perhaps I wouldn’t have been able to dream big enough about 10 years ago.
That’s the lesson for me. Dream bigger than you think possible when looking over a 10-year horizon. When you look back, you will realize you didn’t dream big enough…
“The only person holding you back is you. No more excuses. It’s time to change.”
Tony Robbins
What do you want to accomplish? Who do you want to become? Where do you want to go? How do you want to live? Who do you want to serve?
Answer these questions, plan your work and then work your plan. We can always come up with a long list of reasons “why this or that won’t work” or “why this happened to me.” I am a firm believer that the only difference between ‘reasons’ and an ‘excuse’ is an action plan and the will to do something about it. Otherwise we will just wallow in our own self pity and our dreams will turn to dust. Get up and go. If you don’t you have no one to blame but yourself so make it happen.
“The most important thing you can do to achieve your goals is to make sure that as soon as you set them you immediately begin to create momentum.”
Tony Robbins
Goals that are too far over the horizon are hard to use to motivate yourself to do the things that need to be done now. Taking that goal and breaking it into the building blocks that you can focus your energy on is what really matters.
The Nike slogan says it best. “Just do it.” If you don’t you can’t build the momentum you need and you have no one to blame but yourself.
“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.”
Tony Robbins
I saw this posted on the wall at the gym today and had to take a picture. What a great reminder. Though I am pretty sure I need it on the mirror in my bathroom…
Know your goals, break them into chunks, start today… I personally use the Full Focus Planner from Michael Hyatt and the Productive App on the iPhone. Love them both. There is just something satisfying about having a plan and working it.
