Do you feel stuck in a rut? Is your life or your business not moving forward in the way you want it to?

If this is happening to you, I invite you to look at the difference between being interested in something vs. getting committed to being, doing or having it.

As I share an example, I’d like you to think of an iceberg. The tip comprises only about 10% and it represents your stated intentions - those intentions you are consciously aware of and have shared with at least one other person. The other 90% (the invisible part of the iceberg resting under the water line) represents your hidden intentions - something you have not shared with anyone else and is perhaps not even part of your conscious thought. If you are not conscious to what these hidden intentions are, they will run your life.

Here’s how this works. Let’s say that you’ve identified a stated intention to lose 15 pounds by the New Year.

Are you interested in reaching this goal, or are you committed to doing so?
What’s the difference? Even if you are interested in losing weight, unless you are committed to doing so, your hidden intentions will probably take priority and you won’t reach your weight loss goal.

These are stated intentions:

• Treadmill 30 minutes daily 6x/wk.
• Complete strength training routine 3x/wk. at the gym.
• Follow a written daily diet plan, consuming no more than 1600 calories/day.
• Pack a healthy lunch and snacks for work (following diet plan).

Here are some examples of hidden intentions:

• Sleep in a little longer instead of getting up earlier to exercise at the gym on the way to work.
• Eat chips, candy and ice cream when hungry or bored. (NOTE: If you have no intention of eating these things, why do you have them in your cupboard and freezer?)
• Get a mocha from the vending machine at work since you forgot to bring your healthy mid-morning snack.
• Stop for fast food on the way home since you worked through lunch and you are really hungry.

You can see how easy it is for one to sabotage the stated intentions and for the hidden intentions to creep into daily life, especially when there’s no conscious awareness of the pitfalls that could derail the goal of losing 15 pounds.

In chapter 6 of my book, The Music of Your Heart, I mention the Pareto Principle (the 80/20 rule): 20% of your activities will yield 80% of your desired results. That also means that 80% of your activities will only yield 20% of your desired results. In other words, even if you waste 80% of your day, if you can focus at least 20% of your time on inspired action, you will move your life forward in powerful ways. If you look at the list of stated intentions above, those activities can be completed in that 20% time. That still leaves much of the day for other activities.

Act on your intentions, not your feelings. The question is not, “Do I feel like doing it?” but rather, “What is my intention?” To help you with this, visualize the results you desire and how you’ll feel, and this will help you take the necessary action to honor your commitments. You can read more about this in Chapter 2 of my book.

To be successful, you must have a strong desire to make your commitment happen.

Commitments take sacrifice.  You must sacrifice comfort in the moment if you want to raise your performance in any area. If you want something you don’t currently have, you are going to have to do something different, and that will require you to step out of your comfort zone.

Are you willing to make the sacrifices that will be required to turn your dream into a reality? You know that there will be sacrifices. Most people think sacrifice is giving up something. Sacrifice is merely releasing something of a lower nature to make room for something of a higher nature.

It’s human nature to choose what is familiar and comfortable in the moment. That’s why most people’s life circumstances stay the same. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.

Here's a powerful question to ask yourself: Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years with your ___ (marriage, business/career, family, finances, spiritual life, health, etc.) if you continue to do what you are doing and be who you're being right now?  Answer this question for each of the categories above that apply to you.

Are you ready to take inspired action and commit to upgrade some areas of your life? If so, here’s a process to help you get clear about what you want and how to take committed action.

Answer these questions (in writing):

• What goals (specific and measurable) do you choose to set in the areas of happiness, health and wealth creation?
• What specific actions do you choose to take to reach these goals?
• What could sabotage your efforts? What can you do to reduce or eliminate the possibility of this happening?

Which actions are you the most uncomfortable with? Start with those each day. Someone once said, “Eat a live toad first thing in the morning, and the rest of the day will be easy.”

Choose inspired action over comfort this week and let me know what happens!

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