One tiny change can make a great big difference

I want to share one little tip on how to be more effective in accomplishing a goal or dream that I learned some years ago. It’s so amazingly simple that if you don’t know it already, you will wonder how come you missed it!

Here’s how things went for me when I tried accomplishing a goal I had.

I’d start to work on it and then abandon it at some stage.

Sounds familiar? As a result, I really struggled to complete projects that were important to me.

This cycle went on for several years until I finally understood that if I wanted to break a boundary and accomplish something new I had to be willing to make a change.

Was it Einstein who said, ‘the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing while expecting to get a different result.’?

Unfortunately, none of us can get anywhere if we insist on remaining where we are.

Neither can any of us have anything different if we continue doing what we’ve always done. Simple right? Not so for the average person.

Study after study shows that the majority of people spend virtually all their time outside of their jobs on one entertaining pursuit or another (and I use the word pursuit quite loosely!)

After all they, like I once did, passively receive whatever comes out at them through the box.

So 7 years ago, in a desperate desire to stop matching the criteria for Einstein’s diagnosis, I gave away my TV. I finally woke up to the reality that I was only kidding myself anyway by channel surfing and calling it entertainment. I wanted to write a book and channel surfing (among other things) was stealing all my precious time. That day, I unplugged and disconnected everything attached to the TV and have never looked back.

I went to work instead on reading and studying how to write. At last I was in pursuit of something worthwhile instead of passively letting time slip away forever.

I read books. I submitted articles for publication. I’ll never forget the day when an editor said, ‘We can’t afford very much, but we’d like more work from you, can we agree on a set fee?’ In all my years of watching TV I can’t remember anything that shocked and thrilled me quite that much!

You have a dream or goal you want to achieve? Take the plunge and stopping doing whatever keeps you from pursuing it.

May you do great exploits

Michelle