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Podcast: Clutter and Distractions

May 17, 2021 6:45:00 AM

MoneyBrain

Symptoms:

It was early Monday morning and Brett was lying awake in bed, worrying about his upcoming week. Although his business and personal life was running about average so far this year, he had fallen into the habit of replaying past failures in his head, worrying about every little thing on his numerous To Do lists, and allowing a constant stream of negative internal talk. All of this was causing him a lot of anxiety and stress, both before and during many of his business development meetings.

Diagnosis:

Brett has allowed the tuner inside his head to flip to the wrong channel! As a result, he was blowing everything out of proportion, acting desperate and feeling slightly panicked every time he ran into an obstacle or heard an objection. When unable to listen to his prospects in an objective manner, his normal reaction was to whip them a quote, over-promise, or get defensive. By looking for answers in all the wrong places, his sales process was now so out of whack that all it did was continue to feed the worst-case scenarios he had come to expect.

Prescription:

Brett decided he could break out of the peaks and valleys caused by this hysterical talk with some disciplined thoughts and actions:

  • Slow down every now and then, to inhale, exhale and smell the roses.
  • Business is not Life and Death.
  • Focus on the other side of the transaction. Not your side.
  • Eliminate procrastination. Unfinished tasks can cause all sorts of problems.
  • You can only control your own emotion and response, not how others behave.
  • Plan and rehearse for those situations that are most uncomfortable.
  • Empower yourself. Organize your goals, your desk, or anything else that clutters your productivity.
  • Build your own support team.

With a newfound sense of control, Brett now felt refreshed and rejuvenated. He looked forward to success for the rest of the year, because he no longer let his environment, or negative thoughts by him or others get in his way. 

Critical Thinking:

Take five minutes today to look at your desk, your car or maybe even the screens on your phone and physically clean something up. 

Do you have any conversations that are looming over you? Maybe you have been putting them off as you know they will not be positive. Rehearse how you want them to go and schedule them. Remove that anxiety from your life and move on. 

The Drill: 

Final Thoughts for the Morning:

  • Lack of control is at the root of all anxiety.
  • Clutter (both physical and mental) doesn't create itself. You are probably the one that put it there or invited it in. 

 

Your Top 3 Goals & Tactics for the Week

LAST WEEK: Update us on how things went last week with your stated Goals and GD Tactics.

THIS WEEK: Please share your Top 3 Goals for this week and the GD tactics you plan to deploy.

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash