Closing the Gap

A huge aspect to feeling happy about life is mindset, and that one has a CHOICE to be happy regardless of one’s circumstances. I would like to speak to another big piece of happiness for many women and people in general- having the internal knowing and sense that you are doing your part in creating the life you want- that your actions are having a direct impact on your results. There is great satisfaction in knowing that and seeing it in my life. Is that true for you also?

Perhaps that’s why I don’t care to play gambling games in Vegas. It just is not satisfying knowing that for the most part, no matter how good I am at the game, my skill has very little to do with actually winning. I don’t like leaving my life up to chance; while I certainly would not reject a winning lotto ticket!

Every day we have the opportunity to sow our own seeds into creating the life we want and likewise reap the results that are in direct relation to our efforts. I remember my Mom saying to me, “plan your day or it will plan you”. That really stuck with me as I grew into adulthood and experienced the frustrations that came with interruptions and struggling with procrastination. I decided to make that saying my own and implement it into my life creatively. Often we say what we want or what we want to do but experience a gap between the two.

“Between saying and doing many a pair of shoes is worn out.”  ~Italian Proverb

Here are a few practical steps that you can start today to close this gap:

1. Each morning intentionally set out to do 3-5 key things that day. Focus on the most important first.
2. Write down “extra credit” items that you would like to do that are less important than the 3-5 mentioned above.
3. Check off completed items at the end of the day.
4. At the end of a full week of doing this, see how you did.

Did you have a lot of items left over? Which ones were left over- the key items or the extra credit items? This will help you see if you are saying you’ll complete something and then not doing it, or if you are indeed making it happen. If you have many items unchecked, you may want to write less to-do items each day and spread them out over the week. Also look at what items you are completing as this will reveal what you are prioritizing. Make adjustments as needed.