After two, 3-day conventions in a row, where I played a hearty role, I’m sitting back down with my to-do list. Nothing feels inspiring or urgent, and I’m in a bit of a personal low. Seems I’ve become blind to the Big Picture and I’m struggling a bit to work my way out of it.
Sure, it’s natural to have a letdown after so much action. But where’s my fire for my big goals? Why am I not charging out there and attacking? What the hell’s wrong with me?
If you’ve ever experienced this sort of low, maybe you know what I’m going through. I’ve lost the forest and I’m just staring at a bunch of trees.
Time To Get Back On Track
It’s inevitable at times to get bogged down in the details of our lives and lose sight of the big picture. Or worse, to start feeling that our sights are set on things too big or unattainable. Add in a little financial pressure and it’s easy to start hedging on ourselves.
But that won’t solve the inner crisis that’s brewing. There are only two things that will. The Pull and the Push. The thing that attracts us to something, and the thing that gets us moving in that direction.
Desire
This is the Pull. The force that gets us out of bed, off the couch, and into the world to earn what we desire. It needs to burn hot inside of us, to keep us working towards our goals. We need to want something bad enough to struggle through the rejection and the obstacles.
Without a strong sense of desire, we are apt to wander and putter our time away. Buried in the details (damn trees), doing the mundane tasks, because we should.
But “should” is not enough. Doing what we “should” do is not motivating for long, if at all. So we need to keep the desire stoked for the Pull to work. Constant, daily reminders of why we want something.
Action
This is the Push. By taking action, we move forward. Especially if we do the right things, the things that will lead to what we desire.
We Manic Impressives sometimes bog down when we’re not actively involved in doing. But we also don’t get much satisfaction from just crossing things off a to-do list. We need to see where each task leads to something bigger – more accolades, more freedom, more fun.
Line Of Sight
This is what we call it in Leadership training. The ability for everyone in an organization to see how each task leads to the overall success of the group’s goals.
When people can’t see how their daily actions add up to bigger things for the group, they become complacent. They go through the motions. They provide lousy service. They go home at night less committed to the cause than when they started the day.
They lose their desire.
The Big Picture
Whether you’re leading a huge organization, a team, a family or just yourself, you’ve got to have that Big Picture in front of you at all times. You’ve got to know why organizing your paperwork and reducing your clutter leads to the things you desire. You’ve got to know why exercise and eating right makes you happier, not just thinner.
So if you’re like me, and tend to lose sight now and then, do something to keep that Big Picture in constant view. Make your Dreamboard and post it right above your computer. Write out your goal statements and affirmations and tape them to your bathroom mirror. Get your family on board to nag you in the best possible way.
Remind yourself every single day of what you desire, so you will be pulled toward the right actions and away from the wrong ones. Get that Big Picture in front of your face right now so you have your Line of Sight and the reasons why you should check things off your list.
Now please excuse me while I gaze at my Dreamboard and remind myself why I want those wonderful things in my life. I’ve got to go work on my Pull…
Ah, “shouldy thinking” and “shoulding all over myself” leads to a common trap in my life. Also known as “musterbation,” I find it a great way to self-sabotage.
Ironically I have all the pictures set aside for my vision boards, the boards with which to adhere them to, and yet haven’t assembled them. The trap for me is that it’s yet another project on a long anxiety producing list of to-dos.
Ever look at your house after a big party and be paralyzed with being so overwhelmed you don’t know where to start? Every day my friend, that’s me every day.
Ouch! You’ve got a good dose of the Manics, my friend. You’d better join us for the 3rd Annual Resolution Invitational and bring your vision board parts. We’ll make sure you get it assembled before January 1st…
Ummmm… the low on the other side of a conference, or two conferences in your case. The push, the pull… the yin and yang. It’s the balance of life. Difficult it is to be in the conference life, then readjust to normal life. Because let’s face it, nothing is normal at a conference: the people, the food, the interactions–it’s all different. The adjustment to reality with newly found skills and desires nearly requires a low as refocusing takes place. I bet there’s another post from this experience. Best wishes.
So what does it say about me that I prefer the abnormal conference life to my normal life…? :>)
It is interesting to notice that (1) that which you desire when you desire is that which Aristotle, so long ago, and his successors have identified as the goal, end, or final cause of that which is to be done, (2) the push, or, better, the action we take is that which he and they identified as, well, precisely, the action to be taken, and (3) the things that are in the “line of sight” are what he and they identified as the means to the end.
Welcome aboard, Richard, and thanks for busting out the Aristotle. Socrates would be proud of his prized pupil…