When my wife and I were blessed with our first son, Wesley, with all of the wonderful changes and challenges that a newborn brings, the one I was not as well prepared for was the lack of sleep.  This translated to days when my energy tank was not overflowing; this was a unique concept for me.  We all face the challenge of a physical energy tank that is overdrawn at times.

One day, I realized this tired feeling was creeping over me, the feeling where you just want to forget all of the challenges and call it a day.  We have all had days like that, especially as self-employed sales people.  On these days, you either become a Champion or you lose ground to the Champions in your field.  The days like that are the days that are the most important.

I recognized early on that I had to make an adjustment.  I did not want to waste a day . . . a day of my life that would never be reclaimed again.  Here is the process I took:

1. I reviewed my project list
2. I selected the highest priority tasks (there were five)
3. I made the commitment that I needed to accomplish all five. If I only accomplished the five, it would be an awesome day.
4. I took an hour to plan all projects to completion on paper. I took the planning process all the way down through implementation to ensure that implementation took place.
5. I set time sensitive benchmarks. As an example, I set a benchmark to complete project one before I went to lunch.
6. I removed all distractions. I did not answer the phone or respond to my e-mail. My focus remained on the projects.

I ultimately made the decision that I was not going to be the victim of circumstances or the victim of my feelings.  I was going to be the creator of the outcome.  I set a standard for myself and then lived up to that standard with my behavior.  The interesting part was that my feelings came around once I created a little momentum, and by lunch, with the first project completed, I could not be stopped.  The key is to set standards and then live up to those standards you set, even when you don’t feel like it.

I had a coaching call with a client recently, and we talked about this same principle of standards and activities.  He didn’t feel like calling his past clients a few weeks ago, but he did it anyway.  The results were not as good as he normally would achieve, but they were much better than if he didn’t place the calls at all.  He learned that week to break through the barrier of his feelings.

Don’t let what you need to do be affected by your feelings; let what you do cause the change in your feelings.  If you let your feelings affect your activities, things will never change for you.  Your relationships, income, business, and health will all remain the same if you let your feelings dictate your actions.

Set specific standards for yourself.  Do not allow what you feel to have any control over what you do.  Often, you can’t initially choose how you feel, but you can always choose what you will do!

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