Reasons or Results
You can have reasons or you can have results, but you can’t have both. I first heard those words recited by motivational speaker Les Brown. Hands down, for years, he’s been one of my top three most influential speakers.
There are two types of people: those who have reasons and those who have results. Which are YOU?
When we fill our minds with excuses and limiting beliefs, then we’re simply going to end up with reasons. However, when we make decisions and take actions that supports the life we’re trying to create, we get results.
Even though you may not see the progress happening over days, weeks months, one thing is for sure, the results will come!
Where is Your Focus?
If you feel as though you’re getting nowhere fast and have made little to no progress, it’s quite possible that you’re getting in your own way.
- Do you spend more time dreaming than doing?
- Are you turned off because you think it will take too long for you to achieve your goals?
- Do you have goals but no action plan on how to achieve them?
- Are you waiting for things to fall perfectly into place before trying?
If the above is true, your attention is trained to focus on challenges and obstacles – real or imagined – that stand in your way.
But the greatest achievements comes when we focus on WHY we want to achieve our goals and HOW we can achieve them.
The Difference in Mindset
A lot of my clients say, “I want to sell more art.” Or, “I want to create daily.” In turn, I say, “Yes that would feel amazing right! So how are you going to do that?”
Their reply is usually a mixture of the following:
- I don’t know.
- Right now I don’t have the time.
- I don’t have space.
- There is just too much going on
- I was thinking maybe when my kids get older.
That’s a heck of a lot of reasons—and you can find a million more if you so choose!
The more you convince yourself that you can’t due to that reason or this reason, the harder it becomes to do whatever you say you want to do. You become stagnant.
On the other hand, my results-oriented, high-performing clients say, “I want the result—more money from sales. I want to have my exhibition and artists talks planned out 6 months in advance so that I can approach galleries/organisers with a multitude of offers. I want to tell my story through art, and I’m going to create a body of work, over the next 12 months, consisting of 20 art pieces.
Do you see the difference?
The latter is more focused on the goal and the strategies as opposed to all of the challenges that any goal can bring.
This mind shift doesn’t happen overnight, but we get there! And if you’re being coached by me, you’re going to experience that shift in mindset quickly. For now the important thing is to recognise when it’s happening!
4 Steps to Results
Recognising the difference in mindset is the biggest step.
This next step can fast track your journey significantly. It’s planning! Believe me, if you fail to plan then you most certainly plan to fail!
So, let’s start planning! First, grab a blank sheet of paper and a pen…. Yes I’m serious, go get them right now, I’ll wait right here for you!
Ok you’re all set? Let’s get started!
- First, at the top of the paper, write one of your goals.
- Second, make two columns underneath of your goal.
- Third, in the left hand column, write all of the reasons why you feel you can’t achieve your goal.
- Next, in the right hand write down the reasons you must achieve your goal. Keep going until you have more items in the right hand column.
- Now, look at all of the reasons you must do it! Are they compelling? Do you feel drawn to your goals?
- Lastly, begin outlining a plan with some steps that you can take right now to get there. Remember every step counts, no matter how big or small.
Save this paper, it will help you to refocus when your mind is drifting back to reasons. And you can repeat this process for your other goals as well!
With a results mindset, you’ll find it much easier to move forward. You’ll feel emotionally connected to your “why,” and as you discover ways to accomplish your goals that you never thought of before. The results you achieve will inspire you to maintain your new mindset.
Comments.
Ziafra
Most of our challenges can be removed easily with small changes to our mindset. I think we all know what to do but we allow emotions to carry us far into deep dark spaces where we blindly and wrecklessly express the feelings in the most counterproductive ways. So was the problem really the challenge or the desire to find reason to have a reason.
Good blog V!
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