Hardest Thing First

Dearest Readers,

Thanks again to the friend who passed me the tool of "Do the Hardest Thing First" because it's helping friends and clients and has totally changed the way I operate.

In the past, I would always save the hardest thing until last and then be in a severely compromised position to get it done, which often meant I was needlessly orchestrating my own burn-out.

Each day, I now look at the to-do list and ask myself, "What is the hardest thing?" Once I know the answer I experience the feelings of dread and fear, probably say a prayer to help set them aside, and take action. It's a revelatory experience!

There are other benefits. Yesterday I completed 2 tasks, which I managed to do only because I'd already begun to do the work at an earlier date. I was able to achieve the goal(s) because I'd broken the hardest work down into stages.

By tackling some of the work when it was the hardest thing, leaving it for a few days and then going back to it, I lightened my work load and finished before the deadline.

There was a time when I would work all day and night before a deadline and then I'd spend the next couple of days crashing, cursing that I needed a day off and couldn't take one because there was more work on my plate!

So what's that all about?

Well, I think not wanting to do the hardest thing first is about fear of success. And fear of success is really about fear of the unknown and fear of failure.

Leaving things until the last minute and then crashing and burning is about low self-esteem. Somewhere deep inside I think I deserve this level of treatment, which is pretty poor if you think about it.

So real change comes from digging out these Old BS's (Old Belief Systems) and replacing them with new ones. I need to become willing to let go of the fear and start practicing the behaviour that scares the crap out of me.

The rewards are plenty. More time to play, to rest, to actually enjoy this life. What a concept.

Inspiring Message of the Day: What task am I avoiding, telling myself I'll get to it later? I will tackle it now, saving myself time and effort down the road and opening the door to feeling successful.