Last week I talked about following my own advice to do only what excites you and not attach to doing anything in particular.

I was writing about how I sat down to write a blog post, but it wasn’t coming. After waiting for a bit, it didn’t feel exciting to wait any longer, so I decided to call it off. Then the post came... actually three came.

That’s what non-attachment will do for you. When you have to do something, it’s difficult. When don’t want something to happen or be as it is and you and try to avoid it, it sticks around. The universe is funny like that.

As soon as I didn’t care if I had a blog post, I had three.

As soon as you stop having to leave your awful job, a new opportunity will arrive.

Do what excites you, don’t attach to anything in particular, and you’ll be on the path to the life you are meant to live.

Simple formula that’s way harder to follow than it is to write.
 

Last Monday I suggested that when it comes to work and life, we should only do the things that excite us. I also suggested that some days bookkeeping, billing, and filing actually fall into that category. I wasn’t kidding on either point.

When you do what excites you, you’re following your essential self. Your essential self knows how to get you to where you want to go (even when you don’t know where that is!).

The part of you that knows what makes you smile is the part worth listening to. The part that is afraid or logical isn’t the part of you that leads you to a happy life or a successful business.

I have a friend who, right now, only wants to do yoga and write. That’s it. Now, in this moment, doing those things won’t make a dime for her in her business. But she trusts this part of her to lead her in the right direction. She’s taking care of herself with yoga, and she’s working on a very important book. And she’s trusting it’s the right thing to do, even if her logic mind can’t make sense of it. I believe she’s right on track.

It might sound scary to do only what excites you, but when we follow this path, the universe provides... even if we’re not sure how it will happen.

Put the fear and the “need to know” aside, even if only for one hour or one day or one decision, and see what happens.
 

Creativity is spurred by many things, one of which is newness. Exposing ourselves to new sounds, sights, tastes, and activities feeds our brains.

If you have a puzzle you’re trying to solve, such as “What to do with my life,” before you sit down to brainstorm, set yourself up for success by first changing the scenery. When you tackle a problem like “How to find a job I love,” don’t sit in your drab cloth-covered cubicle and recount what you already know: good boss, more free time, something meaningful, blah blah blah. Escape the cubicle and head somewhere new to find new insights.

Go to a new coffee shop, read a book on a topic you know nothing about, then spend the 15 minutes writing down 50 possible careers, from the practical to the insane. (Martha Beck says that if the list doesn’t include at least one illegal item, you’re not brainstorming hard enough!)

If you’ve gone through most of your life in one particular way (whatever that way is), finding a new way of being or a new job or expanding your business to reach more people is going to require some edge-of-your-box thinking. Start by getting yourself physically out of your usual surroundings. Go someplace new. Mix it up even more by filling all of your five senses with new experiences.

A change of scenery doesn’t mean you don’t have to live in Italy for two years like my friend Katrina, though I know that’s done wonders for her creativity. Take two hours to head the town next door, sip a blend of tea you’ve never tried, and read a book on a topic you know nothing about. After you’ve fed your brain, see what it can do for you. Ideas will abound. Now your puzzle solving is on the right track. Not over, but on the right track.

Then report back and tell me what you discovered. Did you find any new ideas on finding a job you love?

Photo courtesy of Katrina Sloma at www.kateyeview.com
 

On the way to making big things happen in life, know that you can get there, even if the road looks long and treacherous.

Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Babies aren’t made overnight (well, they are, but not made into a full baby, if you know what I mean).
Businesses don’t take off without the right up front work.

But Rome was built. And babies do grow to full term. And business do grow and thrive.

As you think about what you want to build, create, or grow in your own life, give yourself time. Everything begins as an idea. Plans are made,. Then steps are taken, one at a time.

Once you decide you don’t like your job and want to leave, a new one is unlikely to pop up the next day.

It takes time to think about what’s next.

It takes time for you to hear your true self speak to you and say what he or she wants.

It takes time to then act on those desires.

Give it time. Give it some space. All things can come to you if you truly want them and give them time.

What do you want that’s worth waiting for?
 

What in your life isn’t exactly as you’d like it to be? Do you want to make a change but aren’t sure where to begin?

Whatever your challenge, the first step is to imagine the future you desire.

Pinpoint the problem.

- Your job is eating at your soul.
- You want to live a life that feels purposeful.
- Your email Inbox is overflowing and heart attack-inducing.
- You fumble through the paperwork for each new client.

Design your desired future.

Let your imagination run wild. If you could design the perfect outcome, what would it look like?

- You feel like you’re making a difference in the world.
- You’re helping inner city kids learn to read.
- You have a method for managing incoming emails and organizing them effectively.
- You have a simple process to manage each new client.

Spell out every last detail.

Turn imagination into reality.

What in your desired future could really happen? When I walk clients through this exercise, 95% of what they imagine can be executed in the real world.

Make your desired outcome tangible in the real world.

Take tiny steps to get there.

Now that you have your desired reality, define the small steps you need to take to get from here to there.

Move forward.

You’ll be living in the future before you know it!

This is the third of three posts where I share a method for deciding what to do and not to do when your to-do list is too long.

I saved the best for last. This is my personal favorite!

Trust Your Body

This method is perfect for anyone who wants to feel good when getting through to-do tasks. Every time I teach a client this method, they are pleased when they put it to use in their life. Try it for yourself!

1. Establish your baseline. Give yourself a few minutes to complete this step--it’s absolutely necessary and totally worth the time.

a. Sit comfortably and relax your body. Close your eyes. Pull up the worst memory you have from your life. Imagine you are in that moment--experience it as if you are there.

b. Feel the sensations in your body as you experience that memory. Describe them with words. It could be that your chest feels tight, your stomach is in a knot, and your throat feels closed up. Be as detailed as possible.

c. Give this overall feeling a name and give it a number, on a scale from -10 (as awful as you can image feeling) to +10 (the best you can imagine feeling).

d. Repeat steps a, b, and c using the best memory you have from your life. Imagine it, feel the sensations, describe the sensations with words, give it a name and give it a number from -10 to +10.

e. Now you have your body compass scale from the negative range through the positive range.

2. Rank your to-do list. For every item on your to-do list, rank it using your body compass scale. Imagine yourself doing the task, and feel the sensations in your body. Record the number associated with the task, somewhere from -10 to +10. Listen to what your body is saying, not what your mind thinks the number should be.

3. Do what feels best. Begin working on the task that received the highest rating on your scale. I recommend not doing anything that feels like a negative number--unless you want to feel awful.

4. Play with it. Play around with this idea for a week or two and notice what happens. For me, when I use this method to work through my list, I always feel good, and I seem to accomplish more than when I listen to what my mind wants me to do. Test it out and see what you find to be true for you.

When you feel like there is not enough time in the day, focus on what feels good to you. Your body, your emotions, and your family will thank you!

This is the second of three posts where I share a method for deciding what to do and not to do when your to-do list is too long.

Do What’s Easiest

This method is great when you feel like you’re “not getting anything done” and want to get some momentum going.

1. Consider time. Mark each item with the time necessary to complete it (or your best estimate).

2. Consider effort. Mark each item with Easy, Medium, or Difficult, according to the effort required to accomplish it.

3. Line ‘em up. Number your list from 1 to N, with 1 being the shortest and easiest task and N being the longest and most difficult item.

4. Get to work. Start with number one and move down the list.

When you feel like there is not enough time in the day and you aren’t getting anywhere, focus on the tasks that will give you a sense of completion and forward momentum. Sometimes we need a little kick-start like this to help us more on to more challenging tasks.

If you’re like a lot of people I know, you’ve got a to-do list that’s a mile long, your day is jam-packed, and you’ve got a million people needing something from you.

Whew! That’s exhausting to type!

This is the first of three posts where I share a method for deciding what to do and not to do when your task list is too long.
 

Quick ‘n Dirty Post-it Prioritization Method

This is a great way to quickly arrange your to-do list.

This method is excellent for people who are visual. It’s also helpful when you feel like everything and everyone is important, and it paralyzes you from getting anything done.

1. Categorize. List your major life categories, put them on post-its, and stick them in order on a door or blank wall space.

2. Itemize. Write your to-do items on post-its and then group them accordingly.

3. First-pass prioritization. Now, your to-do list is roughly in priority order. If something doesn’t sit right with you, rearrange it.

4. Refine. Figure out how much time you have to get your to-do items done, then cut the list off where you will run out of time.

When you feel like there is not enough time in the day, focus on your own priorities and do what matters most to you. Know that you’re making progress the best you can!

If I told you to go out and try something new and suck at it, could you? When I first heard that suggestion, I cringed. I grew up as a perfectionist, and sucking at something did not fit into my view of the world.

When we want to make changes in our lives, we need to try new things. Trying new things means that we might suck at it for awhile before we figure it out.

Going into business for myself, I have been slowly learning how to do something and suck at it. I will be honest with you: some days my suckiness is hard to stomach. I’m growing a stronger stomach.

If you want to try doing new things or try new ways of being, you might make some mistakes. It’s okay. Here’s how to go about trying new things, being willing to suck, and holding on to your stomach.

1. Identify your target.
2. Map out your plan.
3. Go for it.
4. Pat yourself on the back.
5. Learn from where you went wrong, and make a new plan.
6. Repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 until you decide to quit the endeavor or have mastered your target.

This plan is easily replicated for simple things such as eating a little healthier during the day, taking five minutes to meditate in the morning, or taking a moment of gratitude before you begin your day.

It can also be used for complicated things like learning to market a new business (this is currently where I’m learning to stomach my own suckiness), training for and running a half-marathon (kudos to my friend Julie and her whole family for their endeavor last weekend!), or learning to create your own website
Whatever new endeavor you’re shooting for, it’s okay to suck. In fact, it’s bound to happen. Embrace it and pat yourself on the back anyway.
 
Are you willing to suck? Share your stories!
 

Here’s an end note on the photo, since you are likely wondering what it has to do with this post.

First, in case you haven’t figured it out already, I take all of the photos you see on this blog and in my newsletter. My goal is to keep it up to keep my right brain active. I’m not a famous photographer, though photography is one of my creative endeavors where I’m willing to suck.

Second, this photo is of my husband’s head. I cut his hair. It’s pretty straightforward, and I’ve been doing it for years. Well, we had a little mishap with the clipper guard two weeks ago. Even after all these years, I cut a patch of hair without the guard on, and he looked a little funny for a week. No matter how practiced we think we are, we can still have moments where we suck. Thank goodness Paul is a patient and generally low-maintenance guy. Just one of the many reasons I love him.