Here’s your monthly tip on how to lead an outcomes-driven life. ‘Wait’ – you may think- I’m already stressed out and tired. This ‘ outcomes-driven life’ seems too much like another effort to make!
My answer to your thoughts is ” YES’ and ” NO’. There will be some effort on your part. But once you realise how little it takes, and how much return you can get, you’ll want to embrace this life skill.
In whatever we do, motivation must exist. It is the emotion that must precede action – from picking up a book to read, driving to a place – anything. But when we are in that process of ‘ doing’, we sometimes lose focus on our outcomes. Here’s an example: You go out with an aim to have an enjoyable dinner that night with an old friend. Another driver in the multi-storey carpark drives inconsiderately, and the two of you get into a eyes-like-daggers encounter, exchange words or various finger signs. You get mad, and go about expending a lot of negative energy. NONE of this – Repeat – none of this is helpful to your ultimate outcome – having a pleasant evening with a friend. Instead, the encounter will be on your mind, you may complain about the driver to your friend, and you may encounter the same driver again that evening.
The point is that as we go about our daily lives, look at what energy is being expended negatively (e.g. worrying about things we can’t control, getting unnecessarily angry ), and see how this might be taking away the quality of our desired outcomes, and delaying our time-to-goal . By recognising the unproductive behaviour immediately, you may notice its intensity or impact on your actions and thoughts quickly dissipating. You can further speed this up by focusing on what you want instead – your final outcome. Embrace this practice – and let me know if it works for you. I would love to hear about your success.