Is it something external that's messing us up?
Nope…
It is someone that's sabotaging us by doing something to our motivation?
Nope…
Before I let you know what it is let me tell you a little background story.
Just recently I had chance to complete an exercise out of a book that I thought was kind of crappy. The only good part of the book was this reflection exercise to evaluate whether or not my week was productive or not.
Hmm, ok…
Well it really doesn't take a rocket scientist to see if you were productive or not, but the exercise took it a bit further and had you label out the small things that bothered you at the bottom of the page. For this very reason this exercise why I mentioned this book.
The whole exercise was pretty much pointless, and I don’t think the whole point was to make you see the small things. The point was on the opposite side of the spectrum, it was supposed to make you see the scale of productivity, as they liked to call it. Well, what I got from it was on a whole other level. It hit me so hard I decided to write on it.
I realized the purpose of the exercise was to SEE if people would actually complete it.
The light bulb moment…..
So I've noticed a lot of stupid crap has been bothering me lately. I know it affects my performance, so I know where my lack of productivity stems from. Thank goodness for the little quiz out of a book that I really didn't get anything from. Well correction, I got my answer on one page out of 200, not bad id say speaking from a optimist point of view.
I've read many great pieces of literature that really didn't have a point to it besides stimulating my need for an evacuation from my reality. Is my life that bad you’re probably wondering? Hell no, it’s great, but there are a few things I need to fine tune a bit. So why am I bitching and bickering in this blog your probably wondering?
We all do it form time to time…
Let’s look into this question even deeper….
So going back to the little exercise I was speaking of earlier. Towards the end they had you write down as many little things in a day that you could 
remember that bothered you. Then they told you to crumple up the paper and “whoosa” it out of your mind.
So instead I opened the paper back up and took a second look at it. I realized the things I had written down had really put a damper on my performance on those certain days. I took ended up taking it a step further, I realized that just a few stupid things that bothered me took the productivity down to an F rating. If I had just let it go I might have been more productive, making my day today a better one.
Hmmm, I knew I was on to something, THE ANSWER…. let me explain!
So what's the ONE THING THAT CAN MESS EVERYTHING UP?
The ILLUSION that we have COMPLETE CONTROL OVER EVERYTHING!!!!
What… That's it?
First and foremost we must get the notion that we CANNOT CONTROL EVERYTHING. Control is an illusion, but how we react to our everyday circumstances under this illusion is key to how you can dictate how your day goes.
We have either 2 choices, say oh well and be optimistic when something trivial happens, or be negative about the situation arises, and then throw a childish temper tantrum. Usually when you go with option 2 what does the rest of your day end up looking like?
When you go with option 2 how your temperament does affect all those around you? How do you feel inside the rest of the day? Does it motivate you to act or make you feel like crap and you just want to crawl in a hole and not do anything?
Sit back and think back the last few days, and think how small trivial things affected your mood negatively and then think about the questions i just asked. Really contemplate on how you treated those around you, and was the outcome a positive one or a negative one?
Most likely it was a negative one, and that's what happens to most us on a daily basis. We CREATE problems where there should not be any, further throwing us in a downward spiral. Now I’m not talking about big problems, I’m talking about the small stuff. Usually the stupid crap we get all huffy and puffy about, when we know damn well we can’t change it no matter how hard we try.
We end up moping around all of our life, going from one b.s. thing we can’t control to another. We dictate our life around things we see happen. Then we offer our awesome advice to others giving them similar results, that’s freaking wonderful right?
Instead of doing that, we need to come up with a solution. Stop walking the same damn path if you want different results. You wouldn’t take the path through the woods to the lake if you wanted to get to the city would you? Ah, that depends if the city is beyond the lake, once again it’s an illusion we created my friends.
SO WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Look around you, and think about the things that piss you off to no ends. The things that you know in the back of your mind you cannot change. Let me repeat that, the things in the back of your mind that you CANNOT CHANGE!
If your with someone and all you do is worry they are going to cheat on you. Why stay with them? If you say because you love them, then find a solution to your mental problem people. Medication is not the answer, what you need 
to do is find a way that will help you think, if this person does something, well then….. Screw it, shit happens! Easier said than done right? There is no quick solution or way to fix the problem. The only way to create a solution is to identify the problem you have at hand. Then you can go about finding ways to fix the problem. Don’t reroute your problem with another problem, face it head on and seek a solution.
A few tips for you to get it going
The greatest destruction of the initial start of anything is resistance. Resistance is the key force at destroying growth, we cannot grow if we don’t initiate the process. So instead of being bothered by small things that create resistance, focus on small things that will create action and inner growth. Start off by creating a plan or a course of action.
Write down your daily, weekly and monthly goals, and have them somewhere you can refer to them frequently. You wouldn't attempt to write a novel in a day, you would start off page by page and grow from there. If you try and tackle to much at one time, then that little voice in your head that’s been condition for resistance will play a defining roll on how your life goes. The choice is up to you whether you are going to start today or leave it until tomorrow.
Ask yourself this, how many times have you said “oh I’ll wait until tomorrow to do that”? Well guess what, you said that yesterday and chances are you’ll probably say the same thing tomorrow. The time is now, make start making small changes in your life and you’ll see how the small things add up and become things!
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