5 things we can do to get out of our own way!

Years ago, at one on my jobs, I did one of those personality tests that we’ve all done in some form or another, as a prelude to  a team building workshop that the staff was going to do.  What made this even more special was the fact that the facilitator thought it would be interesting to share everyone’s results with the group.  It was as mortifying as it sounds, yet what I remember most was being told that I was “my own worst enemy”.  At the time, I thought the facilitator and his personality test were full of it, but now I know better.  Here are 5 things I did to finally get out of my own way and create the life I want.

1. Challenge my beliefs:  For the longest time I believed that in order to have the life I wanted, I needed a job.  A 9-5, with paid vacations, a benefit plan and shared RRSP contributions would be nice as well, thank you very much!  I wanted “financial security” and I was pretty sure self-employment wasn’t going to get me there.  It took not being able to cash my paycheck twice in 2012 to make me realize financial security is an illusion.  Nothing is forever and anything can happen at any time to take away that stability.
2. Silence my inner critic:  This was the topic of last week’s blog, but in case you missed it, negative self-talk can really put a damper on your dreams.  That inner voice that tells you people will think you’re crazy, or starts drumming up all of the things that could go wrong, is just your fear talking.  If you really want to make your goals a reality, you have to learn to let go of those negative voices in your head.  Affirmations have been a great tool for me to silence that inner peanut gallery.
3. Surround myself with positive, inspired people:  I know you’ve heard it said that we are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with.  While I’ve always had supportive people in my life, I’ve always known who to talk to if I wanted to be talked out of doing something I really wanted to do, but thought was crazy.  On the other hand, I also know who to talk to when I want to remain motivated and inspired.  You want to surround yourself with positive people who can give you a (loving) swift kick in the butt!  As T.D. Jakes says, “Greatness is contagious.”  What are you catching these days?
4. Eliminate distractions:  I took a big leap in the summer of 2012 and cut off my cable.  I had come to the realization that I was using TV as a diversion.  Instead of spending time working on my business, I was getting involved in the business of complete strangers watching waaay too much reality TV.  I decided it was more important to me to get to the business of living my own life rather than getting caught up in the drama of others.  Of course there are other distractions; social media can be a major time suck if you allow it.  Sources of procrastination are everywhere, once you identify them, you can do something about it.
5. Become committed to my goals:  I’ve always had big dreams for my life.  A list of places I wanted to travel to, shows I wanted to see, things I wanted to experience.  For a long time, I was okay with them just being dreams and resigning myself to the idea that they may never become a reality.  Well times have changed and I am 100% committed to my goals.  I no longer think of the things on my bucket list as being “cool if they happen” but am putting together a plan to make them a reality.  If you’re uncertain about whether or not you’re committed to your goals, I highly recommend you watch T.D. Jakes video on commitment.  Watching it gave me the kick in the backside I needed! 🙂

If you’re looking for more information on how to get out of your own way so that you can live the life that you want instead of making excuses for why it can’t ever happen, join me on Saturday March 29 for my Get Out of Your Way workshop!  For more information, visit www.embraceurdestiny.com/events-2.