Tag Archives: motivation

Dream Derailer #4: Inability to Stay Focused

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Okay, so one day you’re working on an important goal and the next thing you know you’re sidetracked and off to something else.   Nothing can derail your dreams faster than distractions.  Staying on track requires a conscious effort. Just because you have a dream and believe in it doesn’t mean that the things of the world will not distract you.  It doesn’t even matter how much you love or desire an outcome.  You’ve got to focus to hit your target.  And, if that target isn’t clear or keeps changing, how do you expect to hit it?  Choose, decide, commit, and stay focused. You’ve got to be willing to let some things go.  You may be able to do anything, but you still can’t do everything.  In ‘ Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha’, he states, “So long as the thoughts of an individual are  scattered he will achieve no results, but if his thinking be concentrated on a single point wonderful will be the fruits thereof.”

Identify Your Distractions and Do Something About Them.

Everyone isn’t distracted by the same things, but everyone is distracted by something.  You’ve got to decide who distracts, what distracts you, when you are distracted, and why you are distracted.  After that, figure out a plan to do something about it. If I know who distracts me, I can limit my time with that person when I need to accomplish something.  If it’s a specific time that I’m distracted, it might be wise to work on my important projects at a different time.   It also wouldn’t hurt to think about why you get so easily distracted either.  Perhaps your goal isn’t fulfilling enough or maybe it isn’t your goal.   Paul Graham calls the television and the internet, “visual crack,” since it is such an addictive distraction and suggests we turn it off or severely limit it.  Arjun Kulchani suggests choosing exciting work and using meditation as a tool for better concentration.   Cave Cheong offers a strategy he calls ‘time boxing‘ among other tips. Leo Babauta thinks we should schedule some ‘distraction time’.  Think about the strategies I’ve offered here and also check these wonderful sources below to pick out some ideas that work for you.

  1. 10 Ways to Eliminate Distractions by Leo Babauta
  2. 18 Ways to Stay Focused at Work by Dave Cheong
  3. 11 Ways of Staying Focused by Dave Cheong
  4. Disconnecting Distraction by Paul Graham
  5. How to Stay Focused by Arjun Kulkani

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Ten Tips for Tackling Procrastination Tendencies (pt 2)

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Why is it that you can’t get everything done? Is it because time just seems to fly, or you’ve set unreasonable goals,  or are you just not good at managing your time?  Did you know that there is a procrastination equation?  Piers Steel, PhD, one of the world’s foremost researchers and speakers on the science of motivation and procrastination writes, “There are two ways to find out where you land in the ranks of procrastination. Are you a garden-variety dilly dallier or are you hardcore with “tomorrow” tattooed across your back?” Take his survey and get specific information on how much of a procrastinator you are and what you can do about it.

My final five tips for tackling your procrastination tendencies are below.  If you missed first five tips be sure to check them out too.

My Final Five Tips for Tackling Procrastination Tendencies

  1. Make the goal a priority. If it’s not a priority and not as important as other things, stop beating yourself up.  Take it off your list and discard or delay until it is the highest priority.  If it is a priority, be disciplined at putting it first and putting off those things that are not as important to your success.  It’s also a good idea to start working on that plan when you are most alert and productive.  Why sabotage your goal by trying to jump-start it when you are deflated yourself.
  2. Know what your next step is. Sometimes looking at all we have to do is overwhelming.  So you might want to just identify the next step.  From that step you’ll more easily see the next step and so on and so on.  Commit to just doing the next step when the whole project overwhelms you.  Once you get started it’s easier to keep going.
  3. Get Yourself an Accountability Partner. Some people just aren’t self-motivated and need a progress partner. If  you need a muse, mentor, or friend to encourage you, hold you accountable, or to guide, get one or get all three.
  4. Specify a regular time to work on your goal and make it a habit. Habits only happen with regularity and action.  Do something regarding your goal every day, even if it is just to remind yourself of its importance and the time you’ve scheduled to act on it.  For example, I set a goal to pray at midnight.  I’ve found that if I do the same thing every single day around the same time, it becomes habit.  Once working on your goal becomes a habit, then it’s only a matter of time before you finish.
  5. Be clear about how procrastination is affecting you. Have you lost opportunities because you procrastinated?  Have you lost money and had to pay more or fees or jeopardized your credit because you waited until the last minute?  What about your relationships.  Has your chronic lateness caused problems with those you care about?  If you said yes to most of these questions,  your procrastination causing you stress and is a problem.  Your response to any problem should be….do something about it!

“In scientific terms, a person’s intention alone is not enough to see anything through–a condition called “preference reversal.” That means that unless an individual has some knowledge of his or her motivational weaknesses and can create a plan to counteract them, those promises of losing weight or writing a novel will fall to the wayside, Steel said.”  Steele came up with a mathematical formula to overcome procrastination.   Read more: http://news.cnet.com/2100-1008_3-6149636.html#ixzz1ECAsoP9T

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Ten Tips for Tackling Procrastination Tendencies

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It’s human nature to do the easiest, the most enjoyable, or the work we feel the most confident doing, but that doesn’t make it the most important.  Denis Waitley describes procrastination as, “The fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the “someday I’ll” philosophy.” Ten tips for tackling procrastination tendencies are below:

  1. Have a compelling WHY?–  Are the reasons for working on this particular goal more compelling than what you are already doing?  Because if what you are doing is more important, there really is no good reason to abandon what you are doing to do something else.  If you don’t have a compelling enough reason to start, persevere, and to finish, you won’t!
  2. Create a plan to keep that reason visible and front and foremost in your consciousness.  If you have a compelling WHY and still find yourself procrastinating or forgetting, get a plan.   Constantly remind yourself of why you chose this goal.  Write the reasons on index cards, place them in strategic locations where you know you will see them, affirm your goals, and spend time thinking and acting on them.
  3. Tease yourself. Sometimes the hard part is to just get started.  In this case, give yourself a simple doable time limit, say fifteen minutes.  Usually you will get a momentum going and continue past the time initially proposed.
  4. Be clear about the benefits of achieving this goal and the consequences of not doing anything. Sometimes it is that clear vision of the benefits that provides the motivation to keep moving in the direction of your goals. While positive motivation is my preference, some people are motivated more by fear.  The fear of failure or the fear of the negative consequences is enough to get them motivated and continually motivated.
  5. Have a plan  of what you need to do. Just having  a vague idea of what you want and how you are to do it is not enough. – It’s easy to get distracted or sidetracked, a plan of action is critical to making sure that you stay on task.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Dream Derailer #2b: Ignoring the Body’s Real Needs

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If we don’t drink water, we die.

Have you ever  said, “Thank You,” to your water?   Masuru Emoto in his books on the ‘Hidden Messages in Water’ teaches that water is alive, has memory, and consciousness.   His research shows that just having an intention infused into the water changes it cellular pattern which he has captured in pictures.  If water is so significant to life, doesn’t it make logical sense that the quality of the water would be significant too?

Gabrielle Cousens also affirms the significance of consuming good quality water in his discussion of water as a carrier of historical information.  He explains that “structured water” can have up to a million cellular layers.  He states that not all water is good and that good quality waters energizes its host but bad water can cause its demise.   F. Batmanghelidj in his book, ‘You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty’, states, “The human body is a composite structure made of many different systems. All these systems are dependent on the various properties of water for their normal function.  When there is not enough water in the body for all the functions to take place, something has to give.”

Don’t Become Slaves to Pain and Pills

Conscious eating, drinking, and breathing are just as important as consciously pursuing career, educational, financial, security, and relationship goals.  You can’t continually put your health on hold without serious consequences.  And, wouldn’t logical, responsible, or health seeking people want to take care of the systems that take care of them?   Two days ago I attended an event where a national journalist in her early thirties shared how she had climbed the ladder of success, finally realized her dream, and had a heart attack.  She was young, beautiful, talented, and successful and yet according to the paramedics on the scene, she was just ten minutes away from losing it all!  Too many people are becoming lifetime slaves to pills and pain because of health conditions brought on by their own neglect.  What good is it to gain all the resources one needs to live on top of the mountain contentedly and not have the energy to climb up and enjoy the view?    If you are to manifest your dreams, you have to be here to do it.  You have to be alive.  You have to have energy.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Dream Derailer#2a: Ignoring the Body’s Real Needs

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Your dreams and goals can be derailed if you forget to take care of business.  I’m not talking about getting your hair and nails done, clothing yourself with the best, entertaining the body, or even the abode, trinkets, or transportation you work so hard for to make the body comfortable. “There are only three gross substances that we consciously take in to support our life process: food, air, and water,” wrote Gabriel Cousens in his best-selling book ‘Spiritual Nutrition.’

If we don’t eat, we die.

So, obviously eating is critically important.  And if eating is critically important, it stands to reason that what we eat is critically important as well. There are healthy foods and unhealthy foods.  Just as you would not put any type of gas into your car, you should not put just anything into your body.  There are super-foods and junk foods.  There are live foods and dead foods. We must make eating a conscious affair and be aware of what we are putting into our temples if we want to be healthy, energized, and pain-free.

If we don’t breathe, we die.

If breath is vital to life, and it is, clearly the quality and quantity of the air we take in is also vitally important.  How many times have you caught yourself holding your breath?  Our body needs oxygen to live.  We must get outside and breathe fresh air.  I love yoga because it forces me to breathe deeply, to send oxygen to all parts of my body, to relax, to tune into my spirit life force, and to mentally let go of the negative forces around me. Everyone is aware of the negative impact of pollution and air quality, but few are willing to acknowledge their contribution. Check out Annie Leonard’s video for a wake-up call on our role in trashing our planet.  Then answer the question, “Are you contributing to or fighting against the polluting of our planet?  Finally, we must be conscious of the water we are drinking.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.