Years ago I was talking with someone at a business luncheon, and at the end of our conversation he wished me a happy March 4th. I considered this to be a bit odd at the time since it was March 2nd when he said it, but I didn't give it much more thought. A couple days later--on March 4th--I received a homemade card from him. The cover of the card contained a picture of a beautiful waterfall. The inside of the card read:

"Thunderous and powerful, yet oh so beautiful! May your power within thunder out, as you march forth and realize all your dreams. Happy March 4th."

It wasn't until I received his card that I caught the literary ploy.

Although you do not need to wait until March 4th to march forth and realize your dreams, it serves as a good reminder to get you moving with whatever you care about most in your life that is not getting the attention it deserves.

What stops you from marching forth?

Many people are paralyzed by mind overload. Compare your brain to the RAM in your computer. There's only so much storage space available before it's full and you need to delete some things or store them elsewhere. Just as computers fill to capacity, when you get too many Post-it notes in your brain, your RAM gets full.

There may be a lot of contributing factors to the number of "to-dos" you try to manage in your head. Perhaps you are over-committed, which leads to you feeling overwhelmed and overloaded, and eventually paralyzed by it all!

If you are over-committed, the landscape of your brain may look a bit like this: every white space on your calendar is filled in, papers are overflowing from your in-box, your to-do list is sprouting additional lists, email is out of control, your voice mailbox is full, and there's no end in sight. Sound familiar?

Since feeling "overwhelmed" does not support your ability to march forth, it may be helpful to consider the underlying causes of you remaining stuck in "overdrive" mode:

• Does being over-committed fill a need within you for approval or recognition?
• Do you feel more important when you're busy?
• Have you unconsciously created a barrier to intimacy with others by being unavailable?
• Are you afraid to be alone with yourself?
• Have you become out-of-touch with what brings you pleasure?
• Are you too accommodating? Has your "no" muscle gone flabby?

Sometimes just getting conscious to what is driving you to over-commit yourself can be an eye-opening experience.

I learned the incredible power of self-talk when I created a negative statement that I repeated over and over, without even realizing it. Four years ago I lived with a constant feeling of overwhelm. The more I thought about feeling overwhelmed, the stronger the feeling got. In March of that year, I had a conversation with a friend I had not seen in years. She had heard me sing the National Anthem at a Seattle Mariner’s game years before. Remembering that I was a singer, she told me that I needed to audition for a local theatre company’s production of The Sound of Music--my all-time favorite musical.

My reply, "There’s no possible way I could fit one more thing into my hectic schedule. I am overwhelmed as it is!" She stopped me mid-rant and said, "What did you just say?"

I said, "I am overwhelmed!"

When I heard myself say it a second time, I realized that I had been programming my brain with this statement for several months. No wonder I was feeling like such a crazy person! That was the "nourishment" I had fed my brain.

"Those who program themselves for success find a way to succeed even
in the most difficult of circumstances. Solutions to most problems
come from one source and one source alone: yourself."
-Napoleon Hill

I realized it was time to create a new statement to replace the one that was keeping me stuck in overwhelm.

Here’s the new statement I created to nourish my brain with: "I have all the time I need for what’s most important to me."

When I catch myself beginning to feel overwhelmed, this statement helps me remember the truth. I really do have all the time I need for what’s most important to me. My job is to sort the priorities!  What a difference this shift has made in my life.

I decided to audition for The Sound of Music and I was cast as one of the nuns. I was the solo voice that opened the show each night. I had a blast performing that summer in my favorite musical! I had not performed in a stage production for 22 years, and I had so much fun being part of a cast again.

Just after writing my new statement, I looked at a "daily thought" desk calendar that a friend had given me. I was behind by a couple months, so I started ripping the pages off and reading the daily thoughts. Here are a couple of daily thoughts that really spoke to me:

"You may indeed be a very busy person, but remember that
filling your head with thoughts of how overwhelmed you are
only exacerbates the problem by making you feel
even more stressed than you already do."

"The first step to becoming a more peaceful person
is to have the humility to admit that, in most cases,
you're creating your own emergencies."

--Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

You will get what you consistently focus on, even if you focus on NOT getting something. For example, don't think about a pink elephant with polka dots. (As you read that, I'll bet you were imagining a pink elephant with polka dots!) Most people focus on what they don’t want and wonder why they keep getting more of it!

Your brain is like a heat-seeking missile. It will lock in on goals you’ve clearly identified. Scientists have determined that the brain uses its own reticular activating system to filter through the millions of images, sounds, impressions and other messages we receive each day, and to let into our conscious mind only that information we need to survive or to meet specific goals we have identified. When you decide what you want, you instruct the brain to start looking for information, resources, opportunities and other ways to achieve them.

What messages do you regularly send your brain?

In addition to checking your self-talk, take a look at your commitments to make sure that what you are saying "yes" to is indeed something you choose to do vs. something you should do.

Remember that every time you say "yes" to someone or something, you are saying "no" to someone or something else. That something else may be your own health, time devoted to an important relationship, or a key stepping stone to marching forth in whatever direction you want to be going.

Intention vs. Want

Many people create their to-do lists in a vacuum, with no connection to a greater purpose and to the people and priorities they care most about. When you set goals and make decisions within the context of what is truly important in your life, it’s much easier to determine what matters and what doesn’t.

As you set goals, do you ask yourself what you want, or do you ask yourself what you are intending to attract?

The word "want" often represents things you wish to HAVE. The word "intention" represents the experience you choose to create--how you wish to BE. For example, you may want to eat some junk food, and that does not support your intention to BE healthy.

Life is about choices. You make choices every single moment that move you toward or away from your intentions. Set goals and take action steps that are based on your commitment to your intentions, not on how you feel at any given moment. If you allow how you’re feeling to determine whether or not you will take the action steps you’ve committed to, you probably won’t follow through much of the time.

Here are some ways to reclaim some of your time so you can repurpose it and take action:

1. The Nielsen ratings tell us that statistically, the average American watches at least four hours of television a day. What if you gave up one or two of those hours and focused on your intention rather than giving into what you feel like at the moment?
   


2. Ask for help. Delegate some or all of the tasks which are not the best use of your time. If your budget does not allow for hiring help, barter with others, or hire a local teenager who can do an adequate job for less cost than a "professional."
   


3. Stop saying "I’ll try…" That language is very disempowering! Either do it or don’t do it! Be committed to what you say yes to, and be clear about what you say no to.
   


4. Take inspired action now!  In the next 15 minutes, do something that will move you toward your intention.
   
   Raymond Aaron, author of Double Your Income Doing What You Love, teaches a wonderful technique. Set 3 types of goals-minimum, target, and outrageous. Once you get started working on the minimum goal, the momentum may be present for you to continue working toward your target or outrageous goal. Here is an example of how this works:
   
   
   • Minimum Goal: By the end of today I will go through one stack of papers on my desk and either toss, delegate, take action, or file it.
   
   
   
   • Target Goal: By the end of this week I will clear my entire desk of paper piles by tossing anything that does not enhance my life, delegating what I can, taking action on what needs my attention, or filing it away for future reference.
   
   
   
   • Outrageous Goal: By the end of this week I will hire someone to help me organize my entire office.

It’s time to march forth!

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