Tough (Question) Tuesday: What are you doing right?
By Ashley Brooke Inzer of Experiment31, who also encourages you to download the file for free. So friggin’ cool, right?
If you’re anything like me, you’re being challenged right now, & all you can see is what’s going wrong: I made the wrong choice, I’m feeling the wrong (aka bad) feeling, I’m afraid to choose wrong. But what is you flipped that thinking on it’s head & asked the question:
What are you doing right?
Yup, I’ll start off the comments by answering the question in the next few minutes. Hope you’ll join in!
You can see all of the Tough (Question) Tuesday installments here.
Related posts:
July 7th, 2009 at 9:58 am
As a full-time desk jobber who is building a business “on the side” (I put that in quotes because it’s hilarious – I eat, breathe, & dream my coaching!), I have a HUGE learning curve. There are so many things I want to do, and only so many hours in the day. Recently, I overscheduled myself for this tiny 3-hour block of time & was super overextended. I went to my life coach that week and berated myself for not having better time/management skills, & wanted a way to make sure it didn’t happen again. Instead, I walked away with all the things I was doing right, like realizing in advance that my Wed night was too crowded & counteracting it with stopping, breathing, & prioritizing. I realized too that I didn’t need to do EVERYTHING that I put on my plate for that night – some of the deadlines were the next day & I knew that I’d have more time then, so I only allowed myself to work on that one task for 45 minutes before moving on. In working with a life coach for almost a year over two years, I know how I operate & what I need to do before the stress/overwhelm sets up & I become a crazy woman. So I’m doing all that RIGHT!
July 7th, 2009 at 11:24 am
Totally agree, Michelle. I am so overextended right now and I’m trying so hard to enjoy the summer. I am constantly online trying to research new ideas to grow my coaching business. I am reading and writing lots. I am networking and trying to schedule new clients in between working full-time, etc. I am trying to reconnect with old friends and coaching classmates regularly.
So, what am I doing right…? Living my life to the best of my ability each day. Smiling. Learning. Making friends.
Thanks for another great “Tough question Tuesday”! We all need to be reminded of the things we do right!
xo
July 7th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I have a feeling that we’re living parallel lives, Paige! It’s funny, because when I read the first paragraph you wrote, I assume that’s what you’re doing “right” – so add it to your list!
July 7th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I recently had an experience that matches this perfectly. As a recovering pessimist I had a breakdown last week during a discussion with my wife. I went full-on into negative thinking, ultimatum giving, the world is going to end mode.
After, I felt horrible. I have worked so hard and been doing so good with my pessimism that I started to get bummed out. Then I realized that being pessimistic after having a pessimism breakdown was pointless. Instead, I focused on all of the ways I have improved myself in the pas year, and all of the situations I had managed to stay optimistic in.
The perspective shift was great and I managed to salvage my day with my wife and it all turned out all right.
Focus on what you do right, not what you do wrong. Great advice!
July 7th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I’ve been taking a close look at some of the things that have caused a recent slump for me. Gratefully, I was able to tease out the fact that I was still tied to the notion that in order to consider myself done working for the day, I had to hit an 8-hour limit. Obviously, that’s not true–especially given the fact that at most jobs I’ve tended to get my work done way ahead of schedule. So I’ve been reminding myself that I need to work until the job or task is finished. And then I need to step away and enjoy my life. You know…the entire reason I’m doing things this way!
July 7th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Jeremie – It’s awesome that you were able to kick the pessimism in the face after the pessimistic breakdown (although I thought you were still planning on embracing the pessimist within you, at least in part?)! May I suggest that you keep a running tally of what you’re doing right, so you can read it when the pessimist starts rearing his/her ugly head?
Emma – Ah, work/life balance – what a concept! So glad to hear that you’re embracing it. And, as I know for a fact that you ain’t no slacker, I’m sure you’re tougher on yourself than anyone else is & you’re more than likely doing a kick-ass job. Hope you enjoy some down time this summer!
July 7th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Michelle,
This was extreme and out of control pessimism at work, and has no place in my life anymore. I will always embrace a part of my pessimism (I believe extreme optimism is just as risky as extreme pessimism) but this was beyond what I am comfortable embracing.
The list on paper or computer is a good idea. I keep track in my head a bit, but at times like this a list might be helpful.
July 8th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Makes sense, Jeremie. It’s definitely great that you’re recognizing this & figuring out what will work best for you to beat the pessimism monster.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:58 am
cool!! thanks for sharing my little illustration with your readers…the more the merrier!
August 3rd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I LOVE that illustration, Ashley – the colors, the penguins (they’re my fave) & what it represents. Keep up the great work!