The Second Installment of Five: Time-honored Tips to Boost Your Goal Chasing Success.
The virtuoso tenor stands behind the curtain, tux strait, handkerchief ready, the confidence born of years of preparation for this moment.
The curtain rises. The tenor steps forward, and blinks in shock at the disco ball,dancing poodles and kindergarten chorus singing “The Wheels on The Bus” to the accompanyment of rhythm sticks and triangles.
Do you think that our accomplished opera virtuoso can do his best work under these circumstances?
To maximize the probability of success, control your environment as far as possible. If your goal involves weight loss, hanging out in coffee shops where there are trays of almond croissant and choco-chocolate-chip muffins is probably not going to make your task any easier. I wonder if there are any gym cantinas that have free wireless? No? Can you afford a card with a service plan? If not, maybe you should limit your “hanging out time” and go for a walk. If you have to feel productive while you exercise, download some podcasts on your topic of interest. Or better yet, get a headset with a mic and record your own podcast/peptalk.
If your goal is to grow your content for your blog/article writing campaign/squidoo lenses/hub pages, etcetera, you have to create an environment conducive to writing. You should set an expectation with those who share your home, that at a certain time every day, you are not to be disturbed. Unless you are doing research (and really, research time should be a seperate time allocation), disconnect from the internet to avoid distractions. Gather your tools in one spot so you don’t have to search all over the house for them when it’s time to write. Get a word processing application with a visible word count… this will let give you a visible cue that you are making progress. Set a target word count. If you get to that point and the creative juices are flowing, keep going, but put something on the screen. Don’t edit when you write; do that later! Treat writing like sculpting… chip away what is not part of your article, but you have build the stone first in the case of writing.
Your goal is to learn Spanish? Then go hang out with some folks who speak the language and who are willing to help you! Don’t study the language in a library where you can’t really repeat the words and phrases, because language is as much a physical skill as a mental skill, and requires physical practice. You’re more likely to be successful at it if you actually put your mouth around the words, and actually hear native speakers using the words in context.
So don’t try to swim on a basketball court and don’t fish for shark in a drainage ditch. Really sit and list what environmental elements are likely to contribute or detract from your progressing toward your goal. Maximize the first, minimize the second.
If you like this post, please buy me a cup of coffee!
