Can I ask you a favor please? Could you please stop telling yourself it will be painful, it will suck, it will be difficult, you will suffer, you will sacrifice, you will be miserable… but you’ll do it anyway?
I don’t care what IT is, we all seem to tell ourselves these stories at various times. Is it any wonder we talk ourselves out of what we truly want? Is it any wonder the process you put yourself through is causing you stress? Are you wondering why it feels daunting?
Well, you’ve TOLD yourself doing this task will suck! And so it will.
When I work with people and we come across something they feel is going to be unpleasant, I hear them say they will do it… but it will be difficult (or whatever story they choose to tell). What I want to remind you is that you have the power to make something enjoyable even if you feel it actually isn’t going to be any fun at all. You have the power to make whatever task is before you easier or harder on yourself, simply by the mindset with which you approach it.
The buck stops here! So, here is what I’m going to ask you to do. Stop building a mountain! Instead:
- Remember why you want the result of the task at hand.
- Don’t make the process bigger, worse, or more difficult then it has to be.
- Solicit help if you can.
- Smile.
- Think of ways you might add some fun or personal flair to the task.
- Realize it is not as bad as you made it out to be in your mind.
- Rinse and repeat as necessary.
Easy right? Here is a clear example:
I have a client I’m working with who is beginning a new business. She makes amazing, hand-crafted, fresh, natural granola. As she has begun to grow the business, we talked about her putting some systems into place, which she will desperately need in order to scale her business to her desired goal. She saw the benefit and the need, but she was resistant.
I couldn’t quite understand what the deal was. She was the one who brought up the systems, I agreed, and she was excited to continue to scale her business… so, what could possibly be the issue? As we talked through the process, she uttered, “Ugh, spreadsheets!”
I knew at that moment she was building herself a mountain. She’s a creative type and spreadsheets are kryptonite to her! It’s no wonder why she hadn’t done it already and was so reluctant to jump on it.
So, I suggested there was a way to get the systems she needed in a format she enjoyed. We played around with some options that seemed to fit her personality better but would still be as effective as the dreaded spreadsheets. We found a way to put a bit of fun back into the project, and immediately the mountain became smaller, if not obsolete.
Figure out where you are making mountains in your life and ask yourself, do they have to be there? Did you make it yourself? Is there a way you can move it without just bulldozing through it?
My guess is that there is always a way to infuse a bit of fun into a project, even if it is determining a reward for completion. Go ahead, make a mountain into a molehill. Try it for yourself – what have you got to lose?
