I am often asked, “Should I be working on my strategy (aka an action plan) or should I be looking at the internal pieces?” There is a synergy between the two, one will affect the other, but there is a point at which one needs to come before the other. So, what do you do first?
The typical old school way of approaching this would be: make your list and you make yourself do the list! Let us use Brian Tracy’s book, Eat That Frog! as an example. According to this book, you make a list and tackle the hardest thing first to get it out of the way. Now there is a real benefit and strategy to this, but I have noticed that only 15% of the population can, actually will themselves into action.
For the rest of us (and this includes me), we need to do some inner work to clear out our emotional stuff before we will take action. By clearing the emotional resistance (the “emotional charge” as I call it) we will naturally take action! Otherwise, we just sit in this big old mess of resistance, not moving forward.
To start, we must change our belief system and look at why we are resistant. (Typically, the reasons are not logical.) Here is an example, “I am resisting success because taking big action will start getting the rewards, but maybe there is going to be some pushback!”
Though this is not logical (you should not be afraid of having more money, right?) there are subconscious beliefs that come up that cause resistance. So, when you are constantly budding up against this inability to push through, instead of pushing harder, it is time to clear the charge out of the way. Then, you can naturally move forward! How do you clear the charge? There are millions of variations, but in essence, the process is: bring up the emotion, make it really clear, and then wipe it away. (We need to bring the dirt to the surface to be able to wipe it away with a cloth.) Simple, right? Now getting to the root of it, that is where it gets a bit tricky. Just be aware that we are usually willing to face the resistance to smaller things, but for deeper programs, you may want to work through them with someone!
Assuming that your resistance to something on your list is something small, follow these steps. First, look at the task and start to journal. Write the story. Write what it is about doing that task that you do not want to do. On the surface, you will find reasons such as, “It is going to be hard. It is too much work. It is going to be odd or awkward.” But keep digging until you get into the deeper emotions such as, “I do not know if I can do it well! People are going to laugh at me. People are going to judge me.” As the deeper feelings start to come up, just let them come out. Then start to tackle them one at a time.
Say, out loud, “I am willing to do _______(the task)”. To go deeper, using the examples above, say, “I am willing to be judged.” Or “I am willing to have people laugh at me.” Saying these statements out loud should bring up an emotion for you. That is good! That is what we are looking for! Then take a deep breath (because breath is magical) and exhale with the intention of clearing the emotion away.
I love looking at the opposite side as well. Say, out loud, “I am willing to not do ____(the task.)” Or for the deeper example, “I am willing to not be judged.” Again, let the emotion come up, take a deep breath, and clear it out.
By looking at both sides, you will clear out your judgments about “having/doing it” and “not having/doing it!” Then you are left with this beautiful space of choice, to either do it or not do it. Chances are, if it is simply a matter of choosing to do it or not do it, you will probably choose in the direction of moving forward in your business!
This is the beauty of doing the deeper emotional work first because you will naturally and peacefully move into action as opposed to forcing yourself into the drudgery of eating the frog. (Sorry Brian Tracy, I love you, but in this case, I do not think “eating the frog” is applicable or the most direct route.)
So, here is what I would encourage you to do. Spend five minutes every day, make a list of the things that are annoying you, and convert them into the “I’m willing to be/have/do that” statements and the “I’m willing to not have/be/do that” statements. (I know it is not grammatically correct, but that is okay, do the statements the way that I have outlined.) Repeat the statements until they feel neutral. At that point, start looking at taking action. I bet you are going to find that you will start to naturally move in the direction of taking bigger action in your business.
This is the key piece of getting you to stand in your inner dominatrix so that you are moving forward with ease, upleveling, and growing your business not only from a place of ease that you feel good, but also making you more money. So, if you need help digging in, reach out heading over to bookdana.im to schedule a consultation.
