Monotone

Recasting Vision For Your Life

Who do you think of when you picture someone talking in monotone? I personally think of Ben Stein who did the Clear Eyes commercials a few years back. His voice remained at the same tone throughout the commercial. He did not show any excitement whatsoever in the product he was selling. He was just straightforward, to the point, and the commercial was over. Many people would probably describe him as boring. Now, I realize that is exactly what they wanted to accomplish in this commercial for whatever reason. However, the reality is that many people live their real lives this way. Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh was another one that talked in monotone and was not really excited about life. He made statements like, "When someone says, 'How do you do, just say that you didn't'" or "There are those who will wish you good morning. If it is a good morning, which I doubt", and even "And how are you?" said Winnie-the-Pooh. Eeyore shook his head from side to side. "Not very how," he said. "I don't seem to felt at all how for a long time." Eeyore could usually find something in anything to be disgruntled about.

What about you? How excited are you about life, career, marriage, relationships, finances, economy, religion, etc? We can hear so much negative from the news and radio stations that we get sucked up into it thinking our life and life itself is just plain old negative. It is amazing to me how human nature magnifies the negative so much. Something terrible happens in the United States and we have to broadcast it on every station for a whole week. We remember the mistakes, failures, and shortcomings of our spouse more than their strengths and victories. We say stuff like, "Man, it would be great if I got that promotion, but I probably wont". We count ourselves out without even trying.

We must be careful. Lacking in vision is not a good place to be at. What would be the purpose for living if you have no vision? People who have no vision can be angry and grumpy people. They are just mad at the world. Many people who did not have vision commit suicide. Do this exercise after you read it. Close your eyes tightly and answer this question. How awful would it be if you did not have your eyesight any longer? Go ahead and do it now. It is one thing to be born blind, but quite another thing to have your eyesight a good portion of your life and suddenly lose it totally. Some people would lose hope and could not live on any longer. Others would take on the challenge, learn this new way of life, and continue living. The same is true with vision for our life. Yes, there are many things that are negative around the world, but there are also positive things. The key is not to lose hope and continue having vision.

How do I do that? It starts with you becoming excited about life again. Next, what is your vision for your life? In other words, what would you like to see happen in your career or business, your marriage and children, finances, your relationship with God, friendships, your attitude, behavior, and lifestyle? Write that vision down. Write down exactly what you want to accomplish. Write down your goals for every area of your life you desire to work on. Do not speak in general terms about your goals; you must be specific. You can first write them down in general terms, but you must rewrite them afterwards in specific terms. In other words, having a better marriage or attitude is the general goal. Now, be more specific about what a better marriage or attitude looks like. How do you define your marriage being better? How do you define your attitude being better? What exactly do you need to do in order to achieve better? For more on how to set specific goals you can read my article Concrete Resolutions.

After you write the vision down you have to get it into your heart. Don't just write it down, place it in a folder, and put it away. Keep it before you all the time. Place it in different visible places so you can see it over and over. Some good places might be the refrigerator door, bathroom mirror, office, computer monitor, etc. You will get in down in your heart and become excited about it when you are constantly seeing and visualizing it. Visualize how good life will be once you accomplish that goal and fulfill that dream. Only those who have vision can really visualize.

Lastly, you need to share your vision with anyone and everyone. Share it with family, friends, co-workers, and church members. Some people may discourage you, but others will encourage you in this dream you have for yourself. It is also a form of accountability when you share your vision with others. They will ask how far along are you or how is it going? Another thing, on this road of accomplishing your goals people will come along side you who can help. They may help you with simple words of affirmation and encouragement. They may help with resources, instruction, and training. People cannot help if they do not know what you need help with. The fact of the matter is we all need help. It was never designed by God for us to do things by ourselves with no help from anyone. We need each other to fulfill the goals, dreams, and vision we have for our lives.

Monotone is boring and lacks excitement. Get your bullhorn out and begin to broadcast your vision. Don't allow anything or anyone to stop you. Aside from transferring the vision from your head to your heart; you have it written down so you can go back to it when life hits you with temporary setbacks or when people share discouraging words. Continue in the excitement and let the vision for your life be your motivation as well as people and life saying you cannot do it.

The "P" Word

You guessed it, procrastination! Procrastination by definition is to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done. It also means to put off intentionally and habitually. The Wikipedia states that procrastination is the deferment or avoidance of an action or task. "For the person procrastinating this may result in stress, a sense of guilt, the loss of productivity, the creation of crisis, and the disapproval of others for not fulfilling one's responsibilities or commitments."

Why do we procrastinate? What resolution, goal, or dream did we set the beginning of the year, last year, or years gone by that is still yet to be fulfilled because of procrastination. I believe we procrastinate because we make excuses for not doing something. We procrastinate so we do not have to change since it takes effort to change things. We procrastinate for the very fact that effort itself requires energy, time, planning and we already live very busy lives. We also procrastinate because there is little to no motivation.

First, we must have vision. If we do not have vision or a dream we will go nowhere. We will remain stuck in the same daily routine day in and day out. Nobody can change that for you except for yourself. Get a vision for your life. Get a vision for bettering your life. Get a dream for living the life you desire. Second, stop making excuses for why you cannot have what you are dreaming of. Stop saying you do not have time or the finances. Look at your life and lifestyle and begin making the necessary changes to move you in the direction of having more time and finances. We all have needs, but a lot of things we have are "wants". Third, you must get a new attitude. It takes hard work, sweat, and tears to get what you want. It will not just fall on your lap one day. You have to go out and get it. You have to work for it. Lastly, you must be motivated in order to overcome procrastination with determination. The dream or goal may not be enough to motivate you, although it is a start. What affect will the dream or goal have on others when it is achieved? How might working toward the dream impact your life? Other motivations include people and situations. Allowing a negative situation or a negative speaking person to push you forward rather than discourage you can be good motivation.

I have found that most people usually need someone to walk the journey with them. We cannot nor should we try to do things alone. Have you ever thought of how dependent we are upon one another in order to accomplish our dreams? We are dependent on people in the present, past, and future. People in the past, whether it was our parents, grandparents, or others had to pave the way to open doors we are walking through today. The same is true in the present and the future. The fact is we need each other and we need to get used to it and embrace it. Some may also need the added benefit and motivation of a life coach who can help you stay on track to achieving your goals and dreams. You can visit http://www.morphcoaching.com/ for information about hiring a coach

Don't give up! Put the necessary measures in place to stay focused and motivated. Get procrastination out of your vocabulary and life and start accomplishing your dreams. What specific action will you take tomorrow to begin moving in the direction of fulfilling your dream?

The Easy Part

Have you ever noticed that the easy part to making changes in your life is the decision? Deciding to do something is the easy part. Putting that decision to action is a little tougher. Now, I am not saying it is impossible, but it is tougher. For example, you may know that exercise is good for you and so you make the decision to start exercising, but actually setting the time to start and begin exercising is another story. If only we could just make the decision and since we made the decision; we would automatically do what we decided. However, life does not work that way. We must make the decision and act on that decision. We may have a desire to achieve something, but until we put action to that desire; it will remain just that, a desire. This is why many people find themselves in ruts or at a stand still in certain areas of their life. They think because they have passion, desire, drive, heart, etc. they will just jump right in and accomplish what they decide, but there is more to it. You must act on your passion, desire, drive, heart, etc. I can decide to read a certain book, but until I pick up the book and begin to read it my decision is useless. I can decide to put applications in for a new job, but until I go out to possible job opportunities and fill out applications; nothing is going to happen. Do not get me wrong, making a decision is good. Having vision and dreaming dreams are good, but that is only the starting block. There is still a race to run if you want to be successful. The decision is the easy part; acting on that decision can be challenging, but it is very doable. Next time you make a decision to do something, set a date to begin or have it completed. Do not procrastinate or you might find it being one of your 2008 New Year's resolutions.

Life coaches help many people with this very issue. Coaching helps people pinpoint their goals, set practical steps to achieve them, and designate a time to have it completed. However, the biggest advantage to coaching is healthy accountability. Most people do not have accountability in their lives. A good push from a coach may be just what you need. If you would like more information on coaching for your professional or personal life, you can visit www.morphcoaching.com or call 239.438.8494.