WEEK 58: FOCUS ON THE PROCESS OF WHAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT

WT = Waiting Time. DT = Development Time.

PLANNING (task, scheduling, and WT = DT):  I plan to write my Leap Year W29 post into the site Medium onWednesday at 6 PM in study. I plan to turn those small WTs into Grateful Time, where I look to see what I can be grateful for in those situations. For example, last week I thought how great it was to be able to have weekly date nights with Meggo. They are the times when we can connect, share, and laugh about the week. 

EXECUTION (strategies used):  W58 in the books. Although I use a combination of many strategies throughout the week, there are always some that are used more than others depending on what comes up. For example, I relied heavily on the Be a Pro, Implementation Intentions, and TRUST strategies this week, as I was not able to complete both tasks until Saturday. The highlighted strategies that were used in the week are listed below along with the I CAN'T statements that they help overcome. 

Procrastination....I CAN'T because I am not completely sure or am not qualified to...

TRUST: This is a strategy that took me over a year to finally internalize and came from the learnings from Benjamin Hardy, Dane Maxwell, and Seth Godin.

The path to achieving big things will always be hazy, unclear, and filled with uncertainty. This lack of clarity will bring about feelings of fear, but know this is a natural part of the process. Just have a "bias towards action" and embrace the dance with fear on a daily basis. Lastly, understand your comfort zone is but a small dot within your safety zone, so do something which terrifies you everyday for 20 seconds. This will help you to stretch your comfort zone and take on things you never thought possible. 

Procrastination...I CAN'T because I am not motivated or do not feel like it...

Be a PRO: I actually learned this strategy through insights from Jeff Goins, Tim Ferris, and James Clear. 

First, Jeff Goins mentioned in a podcast that “action will follow mindset.” Second, James Clear wrote that it does not matter what you want to become better at, the only skill that separates a “Pro” from an “amateur” is the ability to show up. Third, Tim Ferris said on his 4-Hr Work Week blog that “Practicing key habits when we don’t want to is the most key habit to all.” This reinforces this idea of being a “Pro” by having the mindset to show up consistently and completing the work.

The difficult thing about being a pro requires us to consistently follow through. Yet, we often let the challenges of everyday life get in the way and only attempt to do the work when we feel motivated. This produces small gains if any and leads us down a path of frustration. There will be days when you do not want to complete a key habit or activity, but develop the mindset of a “Pro” by showing up, sticking to your schedule, and then completing the tasks that move your forward.

Early Scheduling = Implementation Intentions: This is a strategy that I credit to completing my tasks consistently on a weekly basis. In this strategy, you first PLAN to complete a task at a SCHEDULED time (day and time) in a specific location as early in the week as you can. More specifically you fill in the following statement.

I plan to [task] on [day] at [time] in [location].

Three benefits are produced from doing this. First, you get a sense of accomplishment if you complete the task in the beginning of the week at the scheduled time. In addition, it allows you to devout more time to do additional tasks to reach your goals within the same week. Second, it provides more time to complete the task if life presents you with something that needs to be attended to during the original scheduled time. Lastly, research shows that you are 2X to 3X more likely to follow through on your actions. I learned about this strategy from James Clear, who is a great blogger that writes on the science of human behavior and how to build better habits. He shows the research on how Implementation Intentions help you follow through on your plans and achieve your goals.

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Last week I highlighted a shift in focus which will allow you not to feel overwhelmed 

"If you do not know your passions."

It came from Benjamin Hardy and he wrote:

Rather than worrying about what you are passionate about, invest in yourself in something you believe in. You will grow to love what you put your energy into. You will love what you have sacrificed for. Love comes from work. It is not a feeling. It is committed action. 

I was able to connect this to a learning I had in W46 about "Growth Mindset", or the belief your mind is malleable and is always able to grow and learn. The speaker, Eduardo Briceno, outlined the differences of being either "Fixed" or having a "Growth" mindset, and one of the main difference is the placement of focus. 

Those who are "Fixed" in their beliefs focus more on the result. For example, needing to know what you are passionate about. Where as, those who posses a "Growth" mindset focus on the PROCESS or finding out what they are passionate about.   

58 weeks into my Leap Year process, I have learned what matters most is the action you take everyday (PROCESS), not what you do every once in a while. You are in you current state, either positive or negative, due to all the small, repeated actions you have taken over an extended period of time. It is not one event or one action which determines this.

Take for example your weight or health. You are not overweight because you overate last night, but rather because you overate at breakfast, lunch, and then dinner. Also, you are not in shape because you had a great workout yesterday, it is because you have consistently worked out everyday for a couple of months. 

The key is to focus on the devoting consistent time to the PROCESS, not the results. This is why the Leap Year PROCESS is so great. It allows you to focus on the PROCESS of finding out what you are passionate about, not knowing what you are passionate about before you start.

I admit in the beginning of my Leap Year process I had this backwards and thought you should follow your passions, which meant you knew what that possibly could be. This is where syntax, or order, makes a huge difference. It is overwhelming to think about following your passions if you have no idea. However, I have learned this is totally ok and this is exactly where you should be. The key is to focus on the PROCESS of finding out what you are passionate about, so you can find the highest expression of your talents to share with the world.

Thus, release the thought you need to know what you are passionate about before you start. Just focus on the PROCESS of devoting consistent time to pursuing and discovering what that is. The committed action will cultivate Love and bring amazing things you never thought possible into your life.

What went well?

Traveling, off schedule, but still completed the weekly task! 

What is something we can improve upon? What actions can we take next week?  

Appreciating more, expecting less. Do not get upset if things do not work out exactly as you planned. It is ok to set high expectations, but have low expectations to the results. Tony Robbin has said 

"change your expectations with appreciations and your whole world becomes a miracle."

Thus, I plan this week to appreciate more and expect less.  

What is something to avoid next week?

Getting upset if something does not work out exactly like I thought. 

Thanks for tuning in and see you in W59.