Now I know Christmas is just around the corner and the majority of us are heading out to Christmas parties where we may or may not partake in some form of dancing (!), but what I’m talking about in this week’s blog is the ‘dance floor’ of life. The place we spend most of our time.
The ‘dance floor’ of life with its fast-paced jobs, demanding home lives, the ‘always on’ digital world, like a packed heaving nightclub, are all absorbing places to be. It’s so easy to get caught up in the music often cued up by external events and those close to us.
The alarm clock goes off in the morning like a starting gun, propelling you into a frantic frenzy of activity – running through the play book in your mind of all the things you need to do today.
Sometimes you’re dancing alone to the music, wrapped up in a specific issue. Other times you’re fully engaged with those around you. Sometimes you’re even dancing to multiple tunes.
One minute you’re dancing to one tune and the next the music changes. It’s like someone else has control of the music deck and is skipping through the song book and you’re the one who is supposed to be keeping up!
The challenge is, in any of these scenarios sometimes there is little opportunity to observe and reflect on how well you are dancing, living and leading.
It’s our ability to step off the ‘dance floor’, walk to the balcony and reflect…
Are you on the right dance floor?
Are you dancing to the right music and tunes?
Are you creating your own music or constantly dancing to someone else’s?
Are you in the place you want to be?
To spend time on the balcony is to become sufficiently self-aware, to stand back and make conscious decisions of how you will shape your life, the areas you focus on, the value you can add and what you are prepared to do and not do. The music you are prepared to dance to and the tunes you are not!
The balcony is the place where you develop the invaluable knack of dispassionately monitoring your own mental, emotional and physical states as you interact with the world around you.
The challenge is most people don’t spend enough time on the balcony – they get caught up in the relentless pace of the ‘dance floor’ and the music which seems to be on a permanent playback loop.
It’s a great time of year to take the high ground and step onto the balconies of our life, take a helicopter view, reflect and review on the past 12 months; what has worked well and what perhaps hasn’t gone as you would have liked – both personally and professionally.
In today’s fast paced world it’s so easy to lose focus. Our ability to truly focus on the things that really make the difference in our lives can be the difference between hitting our goals and being massively off track.
You and I are certainly busy people. People whose lives have many facets. Work, home, family, friends, colleagues, partner and perhaps children as well! So many calls on our time. And over the years, no doubt, some activities have crept in, almost unnoticed, that use up that precious time.
Perhaps, now is the time to step back and take a fresh look at what you do and how you spend your time. It’s often said that the quality of our lives is determined by the quality of the questions we ask ourselves.
So, here are five questions to ask yourself as you reflect on the past 12 month
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What will I stop doing? (Stop)
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What will I do less of? (Minimise)
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What will I keep doing? (Maintain)
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What will I do more of? (More)
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What will I start doing? (Start)
This is a very simple but very effective self-management tool that takes only minutes to complete but which creates laser beam focus. Complete the exercise whenever you feel you are losing your way, getting tied down with detail and avoiding the tasks that will really drive your goals forward.
One of the hallmarks of successful people is the translation of positive intentions into tangible results.
You and I have both heard that expression; “knowledge is power!”
For me, nothing could be further from the truth.
Applied knowledge is power!
I’m fortunate in my life to have met some really knowledgeable people. However, herein lies a challenge as their levels of success achieved are not in correlation to their levels of knowledge.
Why?
The application of the knowledge.
They talk a good game, they constantly talk about what they’re going to do, and on paper they should be achieving greater levels of success.
The challenge?
They’re missing the critical part…applied knowledge and taking MASSIVE ACTION!
Successful people are people of action.
They constantly push themselves to find better and faster ways to merge the present with the future and realise their goals.
They understand the Law of Diminishing Intent.
What is this law? It’s simply this:
The longer you wait to implement a new idea or strategy, or make a change, the less enthusiasm you will have for it.
You and I probably have both had that feeling of rushing out of a seminar full of great ideas that will change key aspects of our lives.
BUT and here comes the but!
But then the demands of the ‘dance floor’ compete for our attention, and all our good intentions and personal promises for change get pushed to the wayside. And the longer we put them off, the lower the probability we will ever fulfil them.
So, the lesson is to act daily before they die a quick death, burying your future goals and vision with them. 90% of success lies in the implementation and execution!
Remember, it’s all to play…or should I say all to dance for!
