“There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either in or out. There's no such thing as a life in-between.” – Pat Riley I’m on a rant today about one of my pet peeves and success saboteurs. I rate it right up there with shooting yourself in the foot. How many times a day do hear yourself or others use the phrase, “I’ll try... to get this project done” or “I’ll try....to come to the meeting”? I cringe every time I hear it. My clients however, know that saying, “I’ll try” does not fly with me. Here are three thoughts that come up for me when someone says, “I’ll try…” Are you afraid to commit, afraid to say NO, or afraid you won’t succeed so you want to leave a back door open just in case? Well, in my world, “I’ll try” is like saying you’re a ‘little bit’ of a couch potato. Either you are or you aren’t. There is no grey area in that particular case and no such area exists in real life as well. Saying “I’ll try to get that done for you” is akin to admitting defeat ahead of time. You come off sounding pretty wishy washy and your lack of commitment to following through on the request is iffy at best. Maybe you will get that job finished… or maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll change your eating habits and not chow down a quart of ice cream every night… or maybe you won’t. See where I’m going with this? And since I’m on a rant I’m going to throw in my other pet peeve. You meet a friend you haven’t seen in a while and you want to get together and you or they say, “We need to get together for lunch sometime”. And then they go about their merry way without finishing the sentence. Give me a break. What’s up with all the vague and generic conversation? Why do you even waste your time if you don’t plan on following through? My friends know that if they say let’s get together, I will follow with, “Love to! When?” Responding this way really does cut through the BS of idle chit chat conversations and I get to spend quality time with my friends. Committing to positive change in your life requires decisive action on your part. You can’t dance around your decision and hope that by some divine intervention things are going to miraculously change, because believe me, that’s not going to happen. That would be like looking at a flat tire on your car and hoping that AAA shows up BEFORE you place a call. By copping out and using the “I’ll try” response, you’re admitting that you aren’t committed to doing the necessary work to be the person you want to be in your life. When you live your life mired in mediocrity, you get mediocre results. Well duh! If that isn’t a recipe for self-sabotage, I don’t know what is! We’re all familiar with the expression, “You don’t get to whine if you don’t do the time” and I can’t think of any better way to put it than that. Either you want to change or you don’t. There’s no grey area here. Which is it? So, the next time you even think about saying “I’ll try,” I want you to ask yourself these three questions: • How long am I going to keep settling for less in my life? • How long am I going to keep giving away my power? • When am I going to tell the truth about what I want in my life? Your power, identity, success, and happiness depend on your answers. Choose carefully!
Related Articles -
self-sabotage, failure, overcoming failure, afraid to commit, afraid to say no, afraid to succeed, committing to positive change, change, taking decis,
|