How to use momentum to your advantage
I have a small calendar on my desk at my work and home office. The one at home is a picture a day of famous works of art from around the world. My interest in art hit an apex a couple of years ago after I spent a week in Florence, Italy with my oldest son, who is seeking a master’s degree in Art History. The one in my work office is a spiritual/motivational calendar with daily thoughts and/or Bible verses.
Recently, I came across one with the caption, “Never try to cover up your past regrets by making new ones.” I love this. In my book, Mustard Seed Faith, I wrote a fair amount about positive and negative momentum. When things are going your way, it seems like it is almost impossible to lose. Unfortunately, the corollary is also true. When things are not breaking your way, it seems impossible to reverse course. To go from overcoming insecurity to living with an abundance mindset takes a great deal of effort and desire.
It is so easy to settle into a bad habit and just think self-defeating thoughts such as, “I’m just in a bad way right now,” or “the stars just are lining up for me right now.” If you’re in the midst of one of these good runs of bad luck, the last thing you want to hear is ‘change your beliefs to change your life’ but this is exactly what I’m encouraging you to do.
If you’re like me, sometimes to break out of a slump it feels like everything has to be just perfect before you can try to reverse your fortune. But the truth is, there are not a lot of ‘magic bullets’ out there that are instantly going to solve all of your problems. What you need to focus on is what you can do today that will begin to shift your fortunes tomorrow. The best gift you can give yourself and those who depend on you (or compensate you for your efforts), is to adopt the mindset of consistency and not perfection. This will quickly lead you to a determination to do those things which you can do and take your focus off of those things that are out of your control.
Again, a word of caution if you doubt there is nothing you can do today, this week or perhaps even for the next several months, that is going to immediately change your fortunes. On the contrary, as you begin to pile up daily wins, you will immediately start to feel better about yourself. The better news is that once you are consistently doing this, once the results do start coming – and they will – they will grow much quicker than they might have with some quick fix.
So as my calendar inspired me to write, I want to inspire you to act. A desire to change will produce positive results today and every day and in time will pay off exponentially. This is the way to win in all areas of your life and to avoid one of the deepest emotions we can all experience in our lives. Regret.
QUESTION: What three actions will you take today turn regret into hope? Post your comments below and be sure to subscribe to get my weekly encouragement to begin Being Different, Acting Different, and Making a Difference.