What you think about gives you your experience
and your future.
Have you ever wondered how come some people seem to have all the time in the world, and others are always rushing? And did you notice that the ones who are always in a hurry are not necessarily the most effective or successful people?
What if it there were certain principles at play here, principles that those high performing yet calm people seem to have mastered, while others (most of us..) struggle to fit yet another commitment into our already full lives?
And if there were such principles, what would they be?
For certain it must have something to do with how these people think and what they choose to focus on.
There are 4 levels of thinking at play here, which each create very different experiences in life, work and business.
At the first level you have a great time AND gets lots done easily. This is where you do what feels good and you know it is good for you, for others and for the greater community / environment / world. The things you think, focus on and do at this level are the things that you do easily, that are familiar to you, that you are good at, that have meaning for you and that fulfill you. They can be very different things for different people. For me it is a variety of business and pleasure activities that I enjoy, and that are really easy and enjoyable for me to do. As easy as riding a bike…
The ultimate goal for all of us would be to spend as much as time as we possibly can at this level. This is where life is really great, juicy, exciting, rewarding, fulfilling, fun!
However…. Most things in life, in business, at work and also at home and at play, only become that easy AFTER you’ve learned how to do them, after you put the effort in, after you tried and often tried some more, after practice. And often some (literal or proverbial) sweat and maybe even some tears come into it to. In other words, they became easy (‘level 1’) because you gave it your best for quite a while at “level 2”, where you did the things that did not feel that good to do when you did them, but which you know where good for you, good for others and good for the greater good.
The best example is getting into an exercise regime… for most people that does NOT feel good at the start (and maybe even a while into it). It hurts to get those muscles working, it is hard work, and it takes effort and commitment and persistence. However, we also know that it is good for our own health now and that it will make us feel and look better over time. We know it is good for the people around us who benefit from a healthier and fitter us. And it is good for the community, as we will be able to contribute more- and possibly cost less in health care dollars over time, if we are fit.
In business and at work this means doing the things that are uncomfortable, unfamiliar, new, risky, and that you KNOW you need to do because they will give you the results you are after—those new customers, that happier and more effective team, that increase in sales, that finished project.
Level 2 means being willing to do the work, whatever that looks and feels like. It means making a decision to start it and stick to it, no matter what.
And has its amazing rewards. Because once you have learned the thing, made the shift, created the new system, or whatever it is that needed to be broken through in the discomfort of level 2, you move into level 1. Which is where things are easy, mainly because you experience a level of mastery, and that most certainly feels good!
Guess what, there is another level, level 3. Where we do things that do make us feel good, BUT they are NOT good for us, not good for others nor good for the greater good. They ‘feel’ good because they keep us comfortable and are inside of what we are familiar with.
And we also know deep down (or often not really that deep) that these very actions are harming or at least not supporting us. Like eating too much chocolate, like procrastinating about those phone calls. Like putting of that report that really needs to be finished, or that uncomfortable review with that non-performing team member.
This is were we take the easy road out, because we don’t want to confront the discomfort of doing something new, unfamiliar, risky, scary.
And we pay a price for that, as things at best stay the same. More likely though they get worse and we don’t expand, don’t grow, and don’t move forward.
Eventually if we spend too much time in level 3 thinking and associated activities, we became dabblers instead of masters… and end up in level 4 if we don’t change.
Level 4 is where things don’t feel good and we know that they are not good for anyone, including us. Ultimately that is were we give up on ourselves and our dreams - and life becomes really unpleasant and quite depressing.
Now, what has all this to do with being a top performer?
Well, the secret is, I think, that people who are really great at what they do and do it with ease, spend most of their time moving between levels 2 and 1, and none (or very little) in level 3. Level 4 does not even exist for them.
They choose to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, they take risks, they invest in finding out how to do things better, they cherish their own growth and development and keep putting deposits in their knowledge bank. They are not afraid to make mistakes – that is part and parcel of learning, growth, development and becoming masterful at anything. And they keep coming back for more, and more, and then some.
Successful people who get lots done in little time do this by keeping exposing themselves in level 2, till the things they are learning and trying on DO become easy – and move to a level 1 experience. Which is were we watch them and see them acting with such ease, balance and comfort.
One of the secrets of those people who seem to get so much done with so much ease may well be that they have paid the price of the discomfort of the unknown, the unfamiliar, the being-a-novice. They were willing to have things not ‘feel’ that good for a while, because they just know : that is what it takes to become a master.
If that is what you are interested in your life, in your business, in your career, now you know what to do: take on lots of level 2 experiences, throw yourself into them- and enjoy the ride! And eventually your level of mastery will rise – and you will be looked upon by others as one of those top performing people….. Imagine that!!
More about the author …
Marie-Josee’s work finds its basis not only in her professional training and 26 years of developing her expertise, she is also strongly influenced by her personal life experience of ongoing transformation & change. She has chosen a number of transitions herself like emigrating to a new continent, changing careers, building her own businesses, having a child at 39, leaving the big city to live in a small country town, to just mention a few.
It would be fair to say that MJ knows what it takes to assist individuals and organisations on their transitional journey, both from her personal life experience as well as decades of studying human development and working with people.