Not Enough Time? Change Your Focus

Productivity needs to be defined as accomplishing goals and dreams, not simply being 'so busy'. In fact, if you keep talking about how busy and time-poor you are, you will likely waste time and energy. Why? Because talking about it is revealing that you are focused on lack of time instead of focusing on where you want to go.

Be mindful of your words, as you words reveal your thoughts. Your words speak to the quality of energy of your being. If you talk about lack of something repetitively, you are likely to manifest it into your life. This is how the brain and mind work. The primary mechanism of the creative process that ends up being your life's experience is focus of intention and attention.

These two things are slightly different. Intention is a feeling and creates the mental image, and attention is about keeping your physical eyes and your mind's eye on the target. Here's the catch, though: if you have wired a belief into the subconscious part of your mind that you don't have enough time, this powerful intention will be the dominant experience.

Most people don't even bother to set a conscious intention daily anyway. If you did, you may have a chance, but if not, you can pretty much count on 'not enough time' being your experience. You see, it's not that you are a victim. It's not that you have fewer hours in a day than other people, who seem to accomplish major life-changing goals in their lives. What it really is, is that you do not understand how weak your power of focus has become because of some of the following beliefs that you have formed over time.

Here are three simple examples:

Multi-tasking saves time and is effective (weakens attention - wastes energy, also)

Life is hard and success takes hard work (creates struggle)

Reflection and quiet time is a waste of time (actually, it revitalizes and restores the mind)

Here are some solutions to the above:

Multi-tasking takes your focus from being like a laser to being a 40 watt-bulb. It's literally not good for your brain. Take five-minute breaks each hour to breathe deeply and stretch. Check your email only at designated times, like 10 minutes before the hour and for ONLY 10 minutes. Set your intention before each task, and don't do another until finished.

Recognize that the brain is an organ that produces self-fulfilling prophecy. So if you keep thinking and speaking that life and success are hard, your brain will cause you to take actions to make this your experience - it's as simple as that. You will focus on things that are ineffective. You will miss opportunities that are right in your face. You will take three times longer to get your tasks done. You will not attract the best support systems and people into your life. In fact, you are likely to create chaos and frequent challenges. Stop this, and learn how to change your thinking and feeling patterns. Life will become magically easier. Don't underestimate the power of your feelings, mind, and brain to create your reality.

Reflection time is vital to slow down your busy brain. If you don't stop, re-fuel, and literally slow down your brain waves, you will likely damage some brain cells (this is literal). Chronic stress and overwhelm have even been associated with memory loss and Alzheimer's. It can cause everything from headaches to cancer. Time poverty is perceptual in nature. Also, if you keep talking about 'not enough time', you are likely to take on situations that are not even aligned with your values. Speaking of values, when you become a 'doing machine', typically you don't slow down enough to even realize what your true personal values really are. Why? You are too busy! Too busy staying on the hamster wheel of other people's agendas. Too busy worrying about the fear-based negative news that you have no control over.

If you change your focus, turn off the negative media, and get clear about where you really want to go in your life, you will have the insights of just the right inspired actions to take to stop doing things that are meaningless. I could go on here, but I hope you get the point. Reflection is critical and powerful to regaining control of your time, energy, and getting clear on what you should be doing to accomplish and truly be productive.

Learn how to retrain your brain! It may take some courage to stop the runaway "time train." Start by focusing on one step at a time. Start by setting an intention to finish one task at a time. Begin to talk about being in the process of creating more time. Want to be bold? Affirm that "my mind is finding more time now" throughout your day. Start feeling that you have enough time. Start by focusing on gratitude for what you have instead of what you don't have. Change your focus, and you will change your mind.

Valencia Ray, M.D. teaches business owners and corporate leaders how their amazing brain can actually hijack personal power -- not in the abstract, but in the context of integrating business and personal life. Dr. Ray, a board-certified eye surgeon and medical business owner for over 20 years before selling her practice, shares her own life changing process. By sharing her story, she helps others to expand their vision and learn that by living with purpose and confidence, it is possible to have a more integrated, healthier lifestyle - with less struggle, more inner peace and more abundance.

For more information and to contact her regarding dynamic, inspirational keynotes, trainings in collaborative leadership and team building, entrepreneurship and coaching programs, visit her website at http://www.valenciaray.com/

Original article

Are You Tough Enough?

For as long as I can remember, January has always been a time when I set my sights on what the year ahead might have in store for me. What goals will I set for myself? What will I need to do to reach them? But there is always one thought quietly swimming under the surface. "Have I got what it takes to get there?" Do I have the drive to keep me on track when I feel like it's all too much?

All I'm really asking myself is "Are you tough enough?"

Everyday in the world of sport we hear athletes talk about mental toughness, but mental toughness is just as important in the world of leadership. So what is it?

In 2006, Dr Cory Middleton completed groundbreaking research into the characteristics that bring about mental toughness. His research involved interviewing more than 30 sporting champions from across the globe, which provided the scope to learn about mental toughness from the "experts" and for all of us to profit from the sharing of these experiences. The research revealed that there are four critical components of mental toughness. The combination of these components contributes to an elite performer's mindset and beliefs that goals can be achieved through perseverance and patience.

What are the 4 critical components of mental toughness?

The ability to FOCUS. The ability to COPE. The ability to stay MOTIVATED. The ability to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

FOCUS: This is all about developing a very clear picture on what it is that you want to achieve. Do you see yourself getting a promotion during the year? Do you see a need to improve your conflict resolution skills? Do you need to increase sales? Whatever it is for you, without having a clear FOCUS on the issue it is easy to get distracted by events on the fringe. Stay focused on the real tasks and the results become clearer.

COPING: This is all about what we do when the heat is on. And as a leader it can get pretty hot sometimes! It's pressure, pressure, pressure! Emotion is everywhere in the workplace. And then there are deadlines, meetings and spot fires that flare up. Sizing this up and knowing what to do first is a coping mechanism. It's a skill to remain calm when all around you is chaos, and your ability to COPE with the myriad number of demands placed on you over a day/week/month/year is a strong indicator of your mental toughness.

MOTIVATION: If you can't keep yourself motivated then get out of the driver's seat and let someone else take the wheel. MOTIVATION is the product of our desire to get something and our commitment to the process. Give yourself a big enough reason "WHY" you are doing what you're doing. Continually remind yourself of your purpose... what is at the heart of what you do? And who does it benefit? If you're looking for someone else to motivate you then you're looking in the wrong place.

SELF BELIEF: Henry Ford said "whether you think you can or think you can't, you're probably right". This doesn't come with a guarantee though! You won't always know with 100% certainty that something can be accomplished. But it is 100% certain that it won't be if you never try. Failure is only the temporary loss of success... Failing to try is permanent. So back yourself in. Let go of the fear of not being good enough. Let go of the fear of failure. Let go of the fear of not belonging? BACK YOURSELF... and BELIEVE in your abilities as a leader.

Learn from the Pro's.... Develop the core competencies of mental toughness and take your performance to a whole new level in 2012!

Here's to higher success...

Dean Evans is a Leadership Performance Strategist based in Adelaide, Australia. With more than 10 years of leadership roles in the field of Allied Health he has a wealth of experience in understanding what it takes to operate at peak levels in pressure environments and how to develop individuals to reach their potential. As the Director of Altitude Performance Solutions his passion is equipping new leaders with the people skills necessary to drive the performance and productivity of their teams in today's business world. Whether speaking to groups of people or conducting team trainings Dean will bring great insights and useful tools to help you harness the power of your people. He is also a qualified Performance Coach and an Accredited Consultant in Extended DISC Performance Profiling.

Original article