Change of Mindset
Driving to a meeting this morning I was listening, as I usually do, to “Automobile University”. If you haven’t done this, it’s a practice I highly recommend. Instead of listening to local radio and hearing the same song five times in an hour or tuning in (bleah!) talk radio or the news, try instead taking advantage of that really nice CD player you have and pop in motivational stories or information. I will alternately listen to audio with John Maxwell, Zig Ziglar, Jim Rohn, Les Brown, and the CD that comes in every issue of Success Magazine. This is especially great for those who don’t have the time to read constantly (that pretty much covers all of us). Positive, inspirational, motivational, and informative. Great way to start off!
Flight Path Change
Anyway, I was listening to Zig Ziglar tell an old familiar story, which I’ll retell from my perspective.
I boarded a plane at Orlando International Airport that was bound for Seattle, Washington with no stops. The plane took off and after being in the air for about a half hour, it was no longer heading directly for Seattle. The earth rotates, winds blow, all kinds of physical forces work against the plane heading straight for Seattle. Don’t know where we are going, but it ain’t Seattle.
So the pilot, wise man that he is, turns the plane around and heads back to Orlando, lands and starts all over again.
What?!
Of course he doesn’t! He and the co-pilot simply make navigational adjustments to re-direct the plane back towards Seattle in mid-flight. It would be silly and waste of time to head back and start all over again.
That’s the story of you and me. When we attempt to get somewhere in life and accomplish something a monkey wrench gets thrown into the works. It is inevitable that things will not go according to plan. Too many times, the way that a person will try to solve that problem is by tossing the whole plan out the window and making a new; starting all over again. It tends to be either/or; a change in the plan doesn’t enter our mind.
Change Your Plan
Stop! Think!
It’s not necessarily the whole plan, just parts of it. Sometimes even it’s not the plan at all, just outside forces that interfere and cause a problem. Instead of throwing out the whole plan, just make adjustments. Don’t change where you want to go, simply change the path you will follow to get there. Keep yourself directed, don’t lose sight of where you want to be! The rocky path in front of us can distract us, but you need tunnel vision so you don’t accept anything other than the goal you wish to accomplish.
Action Plan
- Take a look at your goals and think about one that recently had a setback. Did you toss out the plan? Have you made a new one or abandoned the goal altogether?
- Re-focus. Do you still want that goal? What can you do differently to get there? Is there something you can try that no one has tried before? This is especially good when conventional methods aren’t working.
- Take the first step NOW! When we take an immediate action, no matter how small, we increase the likelihood of success.