The Progress Check

G’day Kids. Thanks to all of you who entered our competition. We received nearly one hundred entries! A few of them brought a tear to my eye and a few of them made me laugh out loud. We will announce our winner tomorrow so stay tuned.

So I just dragged out my little electronic calendar on my little phone-organiser thingy and did some rough maths and if my calculations are right then you and I (and the other six billion) have one hundred and fifty four days left in 2008. That’s including today. Yowza! Now, depending on where you’re at in your life (world, reality, head-space, career, health status, relationships, finances, goals), that little revelation could be shocking, motivating, concerning, surprising, exciting, depressing or of absolutely no interest to you. Or maybe something else altogether.

Taking Stock

Sometimes it’s good to take stock of our life; do a little progress check on our situation and the results we’re producing (or not producing) in our world. I often take time to stop and step back from the day to day mayhem that is my life and evaluate how things are travelling in all areas. Personally and professionally. To ascertain what I need to do differently and how I need to change (adapt, improve, learn) to produce the type of results I want to see in my life. It’s not always an easy or painless process, but it’s always productive and valuable. It gives me perspective and a reality check. It helps me keep my head where I need it to be and keeps me grounded. We all know about my propensity to get a little excited.

Eyes Wide Shut

Imagine building a house but never actually referring to your plans, never assessing your progress, never speaking with the architect, never making any significant decisions about the building process and never standing back to see if you’re happy with what’s being built; how it all looks. That would be ridiculous right? Well, that’s exactly what some of us do with our life; we build a life with our eyes shut. We just keep piling on bricks with no rhyme or reason and some of us end up building a pile of crap. And then we are forced to live in it.

Simulated Living.

Some of us seem to bumble and stumble along, year in, year out doing the same dumb, unproductive things and making the same destructive mistakes. Constantly having conversations and making resolutions that we never actually follow through on. Always about to change but never actually doing it. Creatures of repetition and habit. Existing, not living. Surviving, not thriving. Getting by. Wasting our potential and living in that pile on crap when we don’t actually need to. At all. Simulated living; looks like living but isn’t.

We need to learn to ‘build’ a better life. Consciously, practically, strategically and passionately.

Asking the Right Questions

In the ‘maximising-what-I’ve-got’ process, I’m always asking myself certain questions and challenging myself to stay focused, productive and committed to my goals and core values; what I’m about. Keeping our attitude and our focus where it needs to be (to create our desired outcomes) will always be our biggest personal development challenge. As I’ve said many times before, creating positive change ain’t about a day on a calendar, it’s about attitude, choices and behaviours over time.

So I have a few of those Craig questions (twelve in fact) to ask you if that’s okay?

You’re still here… so I’ll take that as a yes.

1. What haven’t you done in 2008 that you said you would?

2. Why haven’t you done it?

3. How have you sabotaged yourself this year?

4. How and when will you stop that?

5. Why will it be different next time?

6. Are you communicating effectively and productively with everyone in your world? If not, what do you need to change to produce better results?

7. What will you do different (to create different) for the next 154 days?

8. What specifically will you achieve, change, create by the end of this year (and of course, beyond)?

9. In reference to your goals for the rest of this year, what is the absolute best investment of your time and emotional energy and what do you need to let go of for now?

10. Are you actually prepared to do what it takes, or do you just like the ‘idea’ of success?

11. What’s one thing that you can do right now (okay when you finish reading this) to create instant change on some level (big or small)?

12. How will you keep yourself accountable and proactive when the motivation ‘wears off’? When this post is a distant memory what will keep you doing what you need to do?

The Last Bit

Now, if you actually answer the above questions thoughtfully and honestly (as opposed to simply reading them), and then you act on those answers, you might just create some spectacular results over the next few months. Maybe even change your life for good. There’s a thought. Or perhaps… a reality.

Group Hug ( )

Ciao.

Leave a comment or say hi…. you know the drill. Don’t forget my RYL workshops, coming soon to a city near you!