A Series of Downs to Touch Down!

A friend shared an analogy with me that has been extremely helpful. She said that when things get hectic in her business (and life) her goal is to 'move the ball forward' every day. Like on the football field, the players may not be going for a touchdown on every single play, but they are attempting to advance the ball.

Sounded good to me. And I think it might be useful for you in your business as well. Because let's face it, we do sometimes tend to focus on lost yardage, rather than gains.

So here's a strategy that you might apply when your business (and life) starts to feel overwhelming:

1. Stop. Assess what's going on around you and make a list of all of the things that need resolving. If your list is huge, you may need to choose 3 things at a time to work on.

2. Visualize a positive outcome. Write down what you want to happen as if it's already taken place imagining the most perfect outcomes possible. I find this helpful on two levels because it gets me focused on what I do want to have happen and it gets the concern outside of my head and on paper.

3. Put a sign or post-it note on your desk that will remind you to 'move the ball forward' every day. This means taking action. Do something,anything to make progress on your chosen task.

4. Assess. At the end of each day check in and see how you did. Most people tend to beat themselves up over what they didn't get done rather than recognize how much they moved the ball forward. A gain is a gain! (Think about trying to lose weight if you don't believe me.) *grin*

I find that even in the throws of major change, if I can advance the ball even a few yards, I feel better at the end of the day. Dealing with the challenges life tosses at us can be a serious headache. But each phone call, a started/proposal completed, each e-mail with a question answered is a win. And right now, I'll take all of the wins I can get.

Note: It's a given, first we must pray about every situation: easy or difficult, challenging, overwhelming or 'a piece of cake.'

Jane Atkinson and Avis Ward