The Five Minute Rule

Last week I could not get myself motivated. Swimming in mud would have been easier.

First I tried the gentle approach. I cranked up the music to get my energy flowing and gave myself permission to focus on whatever I wanted - even my uber-low-priority items.

No impact.

Adopting a sterner tone was no more effective. Pointing out to myself that I had way too much on my plate to be frittering away time made no difference. I stayed stuck.

95% of people are prone to procrastinate.

There are all sorts of interesting statistics to be found while cyber-slacking. I have no idea whether that percentage comes from a credible source, but I do know most of us hit periods where getting motivated seems all but impossible. (And yes, I see the irony of researching procrastination as a way of avoiding what I should have been doing.)

After several days of profound inefficiency, I suddenly remembered - I know how to break through the unmotivated doldrums.

Apply the five minute rule.

Whatever you're avoiding, do it for just five minutes. That's it. Nothing complicated or dazzling; simply five minutes of focused time. And when the buzzer rings, you get to stop.

But a funny thing happens in that short time. You've created energy - and you'll probably keep going.

Getting started is the hardest part.

Whether it's a regular ritual like exercise or writing, or something different like launching a new project, sometimes your enthusiasm is nowhere to be found. It happens for lots of reasons... you feel uninspired, overwhelmed, or tired. It's too hard or there's not enough time. You're afraid you'll fail or get stuck.

So you stall, investing your time in getting ready to be ready or whipping yourself into a frenzy on other activities. Anything but the task that's glaring at you from the corner, getting bigger by the minute.

I've had moments where cleaning the grout with a Q-tip is more appealing than tackling the project I'm avoiding. (And the project I'm avoiding is usually not that big a deal!!)

Hoping for the gusto to hit rarely works.

You need to create energy to break out of the procrastination cycle. And the best way to do that is to simply get going. Not forever... only five minutes. You can endure anything for five minutes!

And guess what?

You gain momentum. It's suddenly easier to keep going. You've launched yourself into an upward spiral.

It works with anything, big or small.

Having a hard time getting yourself in a workout groove? Lace up your shoes and go for just five minutes. Stuck getting started on a large project? Perform one project-related task for just five minutes. Tired of looking at an office or house filled with clutter? Clear stuff out for just five minutes.

Your turn to get going!

What's gotten stale or stuck on your list?

Pick one thing and go do it for five minutes.

And then stop... but only if you want to. My guess is momentum will keep you going!

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

~Confucius

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sherry_Essig

How To Control Your Creative Power

Great creative power comes from balancing the spiritual and personal parts of you. Spiritually, you are a creative being. That's your essential nature - how you are constituted. You were created by creation to be creative. You are creative by virtue of being endowed with a free will. Everything you think, feel, say, do or desire is a free-will creative activity, so all you have to do is be more conscious about the formation and direction of those activities. Point them in a direction that can make a difference in the world - be of some use or service to the world, and as a result be happy and prosperous yourself. To the degree those personal faculties aren't controlled, your creative power is diminished and won't be very useful to many people or situations - so you won't be very happy or prosperous.

Spiritually, you don't have to do anything. Your virtually unlimited creative power is already fully established in your subconscious mind, so all you have to do is realize it personally. You do that by springing into conscious, personal action - conscious physical, mental and emotional action. Think of yourself as an action hero who's come to save the day, but the day will be wrought with hazards and hindrances. You know that'll be the case so you're prepared to be patient and persevering. Adventure wouldn't be adventurous without opposition that's at least equal to you and your goal. That's what makes the game worthwhile, challenging and inspiring. If it were easy, you wouldn't value it because there would be nothing in it for you spiritually. It wouldn't fulfil you or grow you. You accept the challenge knowing and accepting three things: 1, that there will be pitfalls and hindrances, 2, that all the hindrances are personal not spiritual, and 3, that there are no hindrances you cannot overcome. In other words, once you've made up your mind, you cannot fail.

Confident that you can't fail, you nerve yourself up to ceaseless activity. Your tirelessness depends on not scattering energy on many projects but limiting your field of activity. You make yourself strong and untiring, but you don't push. You don't force results prematurely. You wait till the time is ripe. Time is always on your side. You persevere in always doing the right thing knowing that universal justice will prevail for you - you're in harmony with it, and that's your key to power, influence and happiness. Your reliability and seriousness of purpose attract the people and situations that propel you inevitably to your goal. You develop yourself so that your influence endures by renewing your character daily - honestly recognizing and letting go of all that's inferior.

Being creatively active all day, your bedtime may be beset with cares and concerns. Here you learn the difference between movement and rest - the two cycles that run the whole universe. One compliments the other and depends upon the other. You're up all day and now you come down. Now you relax, recharge and recuperate. You keep the two phases in their respective places. Turn one on and the other off. You don't work in bed nor sleep at work. You don't have to force it; you just have to allow it. This is how to manage and conserve energy and creative power. Worry lives in mentality while faith lives in reality. Worry is destructive while faith is creative. Worry is emotional while faith is spiritual. Which mindset will you choose? Happiness is not at the end if it's not along the way.

As your influence grows and success seems assured, the temptation to pride and arrogance will arise. If you indulge these negative, inferior emotions you risk a humiliating loss. You are coming to creative power through selfless action, and pride contradicts that power out of existence. Arrogance means knowing how to go forward but not how to step back, not how to be submissive as well as assertive. It means you know how to win but not how to lose. This is the partial knowledge that blocks the creative power and clarity necessary to enduring success and happiness.

The higher you rise the more prone you become to lose touch with those below and around you, and the more alert you must be to protect and maintain your integrity. It will be very useful to ask the advice of a person you admire and trust. Absolute objectivity is virtually impossible, so wisdom suggests getting alternate viewpoints on important actions and decisions. All the great creators, inventors and entrepreneurs had mentors or advisers. Asking for help also gives you much needed humility. Remember that your great creative power doesn't come from you, personally; it comes from you, spiritually, from your subconscious foundation of power. Your lower personality is always the hindrance to power not the source of it. The personality is what has to be overcome or transcended if you're ever going to get anywhere. The process of pursuing a worthwhile goal will reveal all the personality defects that have held you back up to this point. Achieving your goal, then, is all about achieving your self.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_F_McLaughlin

Finding Success - The Importance of Taking Responsibility for Your Actions

Are you:

a) aware of why you have the results you experience in your life?

Or

b) a complete Knuckle head who keeps repeating the same actions over and over again expecting different results each and every single time?

I believe it is very likely that you are in fact repeating the same actions over and over and over again. Though, that's not your fault, it's due to your over the years instilled habits that are no longer applicable, but dictate your behaviour.

But if you have studied, have learned and know at least the theory, and you're still not 'aware' or still not seeing any chances, then watch out, you're in the danger zone of becoming a knuckle head, ignorance is no longer a reason!

Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom... The power to choose, to respond, to change.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey, Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Efficient People

You know, Life doesn't 'just' happen, it is actually designed by You!

You have to start taking responsibility for the results in your life. If you're not happy with where you are in life, it is because of the choices you made, and the actions (or not) you have taken. If you want different results, choose differently! It is that simple.

You have to become proactive and stop blaming everything and everyone around you for the results in your life. Keep doing that and you WILL, I promise you this, keep ending up with the same results you have been getting all this time!

Too many people worry about things they have no control over, and get distracted by these things, forgetting that if they shift their focus to solutions, instead of problems, all of the sudden life is not that bad at all...

As long as you can see,

As long as you are aware,

As long as you can see light at the end of the tunnel,

... you can smile! And life is so much better with a smile on your face.

So start by increasing your awareness and the best way to do this is by taking responsibility for the results in your life.

You become what you predominantly think about, thoughts are causes, and thoughts are creative. Think solution based, be creative, and steer away from focusing on problems, you will never solve a problem by wallowing in it, rather emphasize and make it worse by not dealing with the problem. So focus on the solution, not the problem.

Every Project Counts!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Henrik_Faber

How to Set Yourself Up For Success This Holiday Season

The following begins in story form to give you a visual picture of the outcomes your choices can have this holiday season.

It was New Years Eve many years ago. I was making my way along an otherwise deserted street on a dark and snowy night. I pulled my coat collar up over my ears to keep out the biting wind. As I did so, I noticed two buildings to my right. The lights from inside cast shifting shadows on the falling snow. I looked through the windows of each building and saw two very different scenes unfold. As I moved in closer, I could hear voices coming from inside each building. In the building on the left, I could hear lamenting anguished voices. The people inside were the victims of a crime. A crime so wide spread it didn't distinguish between vocation, economic status, gender or age.

In the building on the right, I could hear laughter and enjoyment. These people were steeped in celebration. Interestingly, I noticed that this celebration also was not limited by vocation, economic status, gender or age.

I had a few minutes to spare so out of curiosity I wandered in closer to each building. In the building on the left, there appeared to be a criminal investigation. Something had been stolen, something of great value and worth. The experts had been brought in to question the victims. I could hear the voices through the window. "When did you first notice it was gone?" "Has anything like this happened before?" "When?" It was an obvious search for clues and patterns.

In the building on the right, I could hear through the windows very different conversations. It seemed as if these people had actually found what the people in the other building had lost. Or maybe they had just never lost "it" to begin with. They all seemed content and happy. No regrets. No laments. How odd I mused to myself. What could "it" be?

I continued to listen and it became apparent what "it" was. The group on the left, either lost it or had it stolen from them that holiday season just before Thanksgiving. The group on the right had been guarded, well aware of the imminent danger and had gone to great lengths to protect it. I felt my head spin and my body reel at the revelation of the missing item, the stolen treasure. "It" was... time.

The Holiday Time Thief comes in various disguises. Armed with this information you can develop a plan to join the people in the building on the right New Years Eve. Content, with no regrets.

Common Disguises of the Holiday Time Thief:

• One more event - Do you find yourself squeezing in just one more event? "Oh between 2 and 2:15 am we don't have anything planned, let's say yes to this... " Even if you do have a bit of extra time, that doesn't mean you need to fill it.
• "It won't take that long," or Saying "yes" someone else's request- This causes many people to take on extra responsibilities at the last minute. Rule number one, everything takes longer than you think it will. No matter how much you like someone, or how much you want to be helpful; if it wasn't in the original holiday time plan, you may need to say no!
• Distraction/Procrastination- Don't be deceived. You know when you're being distracted. Don't choose to complete an unnecessary, unimportant task at the expense of the necessary and important ones.

Plan to Avert the Holiday Time Thief:

You must be intentional to avoid being a victim!

• Plan - Get out your calendar for the next two months. What do you want your holiday season look like? Include relationships, work, events, and activities. What will it take for you to be content and finish your year strong?
• Decide - The non-Negotiables. Who are the people you want/need to spend time with? What are the events, activities etc. that you absolutely want or have to do? Write everything down on your calendar. Make sure your list includes both personal and professional items. What will equip you to finish the year strong? Write these down now. The Negotiables - What would be nice but not absolutely necessary? If it's someone you can see at another time, or an activity that will ultimately take away from something more important, then it's a negotiable. (When planning your calendar it's critical you get these two lists right so you aren't deceived into believing that a negotiable is somehow non-negotiable.)
• Prepare - Prepare yourself mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually for a great season! Let others know your decisions in advance to avoid awkward conversations in the final hour. Decide what's important and focus on that.

Article Source:  http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kaylene_S_Mathews