Pushing Against the Rock

Have you ever felt like your efforts are in vain? Like no matter how hard you try, you can never get ahead?

We have all felt this way at some point in our lives. There is a story that I read years ago that has helped me a lot... I recently found it again and want to share it:

Pushing Against The Rock
Author Unknown

There once was a man who was asleep one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared to him.

The Lord told him He had a work for him to do, and showed him a large rock explaining that he was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, and for many days he toiled from sunup to sundown; his shoulder set squarely against the cold massive surface of the rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man showed signs of discouragement, Satan decided to enter the picture - placing thoughts in the man's mind, such as "Why kill yourself over this? You're never going to move it!" or "Boy, you've been at it a long time and you haven't even scratched the surface!" etc. giving the man the impression the task was impossible and the man was an unworthy servant because he wasn't moving the massive stone.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man and he started to ease up in his efforts. "Why kill myself?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough." And this he did or at least planned on doing until, one day, he decided to take his troubles to the Lord.

"Lord," he said, "I have labored hard and long in Your service, putting forth all my strength to do that which You have asked of me. Yet after all this time, I have not even budged that rock even half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

To this the Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. At least not by yourself. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed, ready to quit. But is this really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled; your back sinewed and brown. Your hands are calloused from constant pressure and your legs have become massive and hard. 

"Through opposition you have grown much and your ability now far surpasses that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock.  But your calling was to be obedient and push, and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom, and this you have done. My friend, I will now move the rock."

Are Your Goals Failing You?

For the past 5 years, one of my grandiose new years' resolutions is to run a 5k in less than 30 minutes.  I have walked/run three 5k's in my life, and my time is nowhere near 30 minutes.  So it seemed like a great goal to really push myself.  But the reality is that in 5 years I have made zero progress on this goal!  ZERO!!!

So in November of this past year I decided it was time to get serious about this goal.  I challenged myself to do a really tough (non-cardio) workout for 10 days in a row.  I completed that challenge and was feeling strong and confident.  So with all this momentum behind me, I decided it was time to re-introduce the treadmill.  I set a new 10-day challenge to do a 10-minute (yes - you read that right -- only 10 minutes) workout on the treadmill!  By the third morning, I couldn't even talk myself into doing 5 minutes on the treadmill.  The first challenge was a harder challenge to complete, but I had no trouble motivating myself to do it!  That's when I realized that I wasn't failing my goal, my goal was failing me!!!  I just needed to set a completely different goal!

About that time a friend invited me to go to a Jazzercise class with her.  I had never been to a Jazzercise class before, and I was pretty much hooked from the first session!  So what was my 1 new years' resolution this year?  To do Jazzercise at least 3 times/week.  Do I have any trouble motivating myself to go to Jazzercise?  No!  I am having a great time; I love how I feel all day after doing the workout (one week I even did a few extra workouts!).  My favorite part of doing Jazzercise is walking past the treadmill in my Family Room with ZERO guilt!

Two months into the new year, I am still going strong on my new years' resolution!!!

Is there a new years' resolution (or any other type of goal) that has been failing you all these years?  Maybe it's time to set a better goal for you!

Your Next Step is... Take Action!!!

"The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today.
The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer." ~Nolan Bushnell, Founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's

Right after my mother's death I was having a hard time being motivated.  So I started asking God in my prayers to "Show me the next step and help me have the courage to take it."  Most of us know what that next step is, but for whatever reason we don't have the courage to take the step.  I asked for them to be baby steps that I could easily manage.  Guess what?  If you take enough baby steps, then you still make progress!  In fact you make more progress taking baby steps in the right direction, then you do going full speed in the wrong direction!  You don't have to take massive action, just take that small action you feel inspired to take.

It may seem random and unrelated like cleaning out a certain closet.  But while cleaning out that closet you may find something that helps you figure out the next step, or a thought may come to you while you clean out the closet, or having the closet cleaned out may take something off your mind and open up space for something else.

Don't waste your time and energy questioning the action step -- just do it!  And then ask what the next step is!  One of my husband's favorite sayings is:  "God can't steer a parked car."  So get moving and then let God guide you where you can be the most effective.

So ask yourself:  "What is one thing I can do in the next 2-5 days that will bring me a step closer to my dream/goal?"  Then go and DO IT!!!

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify!!!

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo da Vinci

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." ~Confucius

Simplicity is my theme for 2011!  There are so many areas of my life that have become cumbersome and weighed down. I have repeatedly taken 5-year plans in various areas of my life and attempted to achieve them in 6 months or less!  Besides feeling like a complete failure, it is very tiring to live your life like this!  So this year I am simplifying and congratulating myself and celebrating every achievement -- no matter how small it may seem!

Sometimes the very act of simplifying can seem overwhelming.  So I have been doing it in bite-sized chunks -- very small bite-sized chunks!  I found this great 21-day challenge through a friend, and it really helped me tackle a little at a time.  I'm not through the 21-day challenge yet, but I am making progress!  Every time I purge a closet, I can feel myself breathing more freely.  Go here for the 21-day challenge

Another obvious place where I have simplified is with my new years' resolutions.  Usually I make grand resolutions -- extremely impressive!  I'm pretty sure that if I ever were able to accomplish all my new years' resolutions in any given year, I would unanimously be crowned Queen of the World.  In other words, it is not even humanly possible to achieve some of my grandiose goals in a single year!  Now I follow the motto:  Better to succeed incrementally than to fail impressively!

I chose one new years' resolution this year.  Today is January 25 and do you think I have abandoned my resolution?  Oh, no!  I am jamming on it!  I feel like a rock star!!!  Now that this new years' resolution has become a habit, I am ready to add in another resolution.

Actions and Reactions

To every action there is an EQUAL and OPPOSITE reaction!!! Even though I know this, I have often forgotten it! So when I have taken an action -- and the equal and opposite reaction pops up -- I end up putting my energy into trying to stop the reaction, and I lose all progress in my action. It's really important that we keep our energy and focus on the ACTION (what we're trying to create) instead of in the opposition that pops up.

I am reminded of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. Nehemiah was an Israelite who lived in exile in Babylon and served as cupbearer to the king.   At Nehemiah's request, the King gave Nehemiah the authority to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city. However, not everyone was happy with this plan.

Fearless, Nehemiah did not allow the opposition to distract him. Instead, he organized his resources and manpower and moved forward rebuilding the city.  But as the walls of the city began to rise, opposition intensified. Nehemiah’s enemies threatened, conspired, and ridiculed. Their threats were very real, and they grew so intimidating that Nehemiah confessed, “They all made us afraid.” (Nehemiah 6:9) In spite of the danger and the ever-present threat of invasion, the work progressed.

As the work continued, Nehemiah’s enemies became more desperate. Four times they entreated him to leave the safety of the city and meet with them under the pretense of resolving the conflict, but Nehemiah knew that their intent was to do him harm. Each time they approached him, he responded with the same answer: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.” (Nehemiah 6:3)

What an amazing response! With that clear and unchanging purpose of heart and mind, with that great resolve, the walls of Jerusalem rose until they were rebuilt in an astonishing 52 days.

If we are not facing any opposition, then it means we need to start taking action!  As we face opposition we need to do as Nehemiah and "do our great work, and not come down" to engage the opposition. It's important that we keep our energy moving forward in our ACTION so that we can keep progressing and so we can do our part to create miracles in our lives!

Excitement Trumps Fear -- Every Time!!!

This summer I had an amazing opportunity open up for me.  I had put a major goal in my Life Vision statement, and I knew that the right teacher would show up at the right time to help me with this goal.  The right teacher showed up at the right time, but when it came time to make the decision to work with her, I was scared!!!  My fears were blocking me big time!  I wasn't afraid of the monetary investment or the time I would need to put into this goal... I was afraid of the inevitable success that will follow!  This new teacher told me my life would be completely different 12 months from now, and I knew she was absolutely correct!

But part of me was very excited about this opportunity.  After all, I had set the goal and expected this very thing to happen.  It will take me so much closer to living my life 100% on purpose -- in short, it's everything I want!

So why the fear?  Because our minds like to play tricks on us!  Our minds like to keep us away from change and to keep us "safe."

So I immediately went to work clearing out the fear and really, really building up the excitement in my mind!  The more excited I got, the less fearful I became.  Every time I felt the fears creeping back in, I would focus on all the great things that would come out of this opportunity, and I got really excited again!  And the fears disappeared again!

Is there a fear keeping you back from something you know will be really, really good for you?  As you get closer to the goal, do you feel the fear become almost paralyzing?  Then get really clear about your motive -- why did you want this goal in the first place?  Get excited about your goal and watch the fears disappear!

Power of Intention

I set a goal for myself this summer.  I was really excited about it, and I spent a lot of time mentally preparing for it.  But now that it's time to do the work that will lead me to my goal I find myself waffling and wondering how committed I actually am to the goal.  I should probably mention that this is the third or fourth time this year I have set the same goal, and each time I have abandoned the goal because of my lack of commitment.

So I found myself a bit frustrated that I was running into the same wall I've been running into all year.  I was on the verge of abandoning my goal when I said to myself, "If I were my own client, what would I tell myself?"  That's when I realized that my first question as a coach would be, "What exactly is your goal?  What are you really trying to accomplish?"

I had been changing my goal depending on my mood and how much effort I wanted to expend towards achieving the goal.  I had broken the very first rule of goal-setting:  Write it down!!! This is not a new concept to me, and it probably isn't a new concept to you either.  But I still try to cut corners sometimes...

So I took a bright yellow piece of paper (so I couldn't possible miss it) and I wrote:  "My intention is:  to _________ by August 2, 2010" and I promptly taped it to my bathroom mirror.  I now have a very clearly defined goal that I can't just change because I don't feel like sticking to my plan for the day.

Intention is defined as an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions; an aim that guides action; a course of action one intends to follow.  It's the seed you plant so you can water it, nourish it, and harvest it.  Without a clear intention to guide your actions, there really isn't anything to act on, or nourish, or eventually to manifest.

I am happy to say that instead of abandoning my goal once again, I am now on track to reach my goal on or before August 2, 2010.

What goals are you currently working on?  Have you defined your intention and written it down and posted it where you can easily see it?

30 Days in a Row?!?!?

When I learned the "30 days in a row -- without missing a day" secret, I had been trying to lose weight for over 10 years.  I had listened to affirmations, I had written affirmations, I bought several self-development courses -- without any success!  I noticed that a lot of people who had success would say they read their Vision Statement or watched their goal movie -- or whatever they did -- for 30 days in a row -- without missing a day!

Then I heard Jack Canfield tell a story about a test NASA did several years ago.  They were testing the physiological and psychological impact of spatial disorientation on potential astronauts.  So they put convex goggles on these astronaut candidates that made everything appear upside down.  They had to wear these glasses 24/7 -- without ever taking them off.  So everything appeared upside down all the time.  At first, the astronauts were under a lot of stress and anxiety, but eventually they started adjusting.  About 30 days into the experiment, something amazing happened!  The men's brains had created new neural pathways so they started to see everything normal -- even though they were still wearing the glasses that made everything appear upside down!  They did the experiment again, this time taking the goggles off partway into the experiment, but the new neural pathways did not form.  The brain needed about 30 uninterrupted days for the new neural connections to form within the brain.

When I heard about this experiment, I decided to try my own experiment.  I took a 15-minute self-hypnosis session on weight loss from a highly respected weight loss hypnotist and listened to it EVERY night for 30 nights in a row!  I didn't feel different in any way; in fact, at times I wondered if it was even working!  But I was determined to see the experiment through to the end.

After the 30 nights, I stopped listening to it to see if I really attracted anything different into my life.  Within a few weeks, one of my sisters called and told me about a new weight loss program that many of her friends had lost weight with.  Intuitively, I knew this was what I had been looking for.  To make a long story short, I lost 30 lb in the next 2 months -- after going for 10+ years with zero success!

Try your own experiment -- just be sure that you do it for 30 consecutive nights!  I find it most effective to listen to the recording as you are waking up or going to sleep because that's when your subconscious is the most receptive to new ideas -- as it is coming out of and going into theta brain frequency!  I would love to hear how your own experiment goes!

Reaching Our Goal

On Monday we talked about how willpower doesn't help us achieve our goals.  Most of us have been asking ourselves how to develop more willpower; now I want you to start asking how you can accomplish your goal without willpower!

Like I mentioned earlier, the subconscious mind is responsible for 96-98% of our results.  The subconscious mind is where all our habits, beliefs and programming are stored.  In order to achieve our goals, we need to change the habits, beliefs and programming that are in our subconscious mind.  To give this subject justice, I would have to teach an entire course on it -- and maybe I will one day (keep checking my website for more information on that).  Here are a couple of ideas to get you started:

1.  Be very, very clear on what you want.  Write out a vision statement that gets you very excited!!!  It should feel like a "10" to you on a scale from 1-10.

2.  Make a recording of you reading this Vision Statement (be sure to read it with enthusiasm and excitement).

3.  Listen to this recording as you go to sleep at night and as you wake up in the morning (I bought a CD alarm clock to make this easy).  Do this for at least 30 days in a row -- without missing a day!!!  I will talk about the importance of that in my next post!

4.  Collect (or create) a picture which represents you reaching this goal.  Across the bottom of the picture write "I am so happy and grateful now that ______." (Fill in the blank with your goal statement).  Keep this picture somewhere you will see it often to remind you of this goal. 

Feel free to try this for yourself and record your experience in the comments section!

Willpower...

Most of us wish we had more willpower so we could reach our goal.  I will show you how totally ineffective willpower is when trying to achieve a goal.

The conscious mind is responsible for 2-4% of our results
The subconscious mind is responsible for 96-98% of our results

Willpower is a function of the conscious mind, so...

This line is 100 spaces long; the * shows the 4% mark. If we want to use willpower to reach our goal, this is how much progress we can expect to make towards our goal. Frustrating, huh?

___*________________________________________________________________________________________________
      4% 
You probably have great willpower, especially since so many of us spend so much time and effort to improve our willpower! You just need to find better ways to reach your goal...

Later this week we will talk about what some of those better ways are to reach your goals!

The End From the Beginning...

Here is another story told by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, an LDS church leader (from April 2006 conference). The talk is called "See the End from the Beginning," and I have been thinking about this story a lot lately. Some of our goals may be taking a bit longer than we would like, but we don't know what unknown "dis-eases" are being healed as we work toward our goal. This story inspired me to be grateful for the challenges that come with my goals because they are making me stronger!

"Allow me to share with you an experience from my own boyhood. When I was 11 years old, my family had to leave East Germany and begin a new life in West Germany overnight. Until my father could get back into his original profession as a government employee, my parents operated a small laundry business in our little town. I became the laundry delivery boy. To be able to do that effectively, I needed a bicycle to pull the heavy laundry cart. I had always dreamed of owning a nice, sleek, shiny, sporty red bicycle. But there had never been enough money to fulfill this dream. What I got instead was a heavy, ugly, black, sturdy workhorse of a bicycle. I delivered laundry on that bike before and after school for quite a few years. Most of the time, I was not overly excited about the bike, the cart, or my job. Sometimes the cart seemed so heavy and the work so tiring that I thought my lungs would burst, and I often had to stop to catch my breath. Nevertheless, I did my part because I knew we desperately needed the income as a family, and it was my way to contribute.

"If I had only known back then what I learned many years later—if I had only been able to see the end from the beginning—I would have had a better appreciation of these experiences, and it would have made my job so much easier.

"Many years later, when I was about to be drafted into the military, I decided to volunteer instead and join the Air Force to become a pilot. I loved flying and thought being a pilot would be my thing.

"To be accepted for the program I had to pass a number of tests, including a strict physical exam. The doctors were slightly concerned by the results and did some additional medical tests. Then they announced, “You have scars on your lung which are an indication of a lung disease in your early teenage years, but obviously you are fine now.” The doctors wondered what kind of treatment I had gone through to heal the disease. Until the day of that examination I had never known that I had any kind of lung disease. Then it became clear to me that my regular exercise in fresh air as a laundry boy had been a key factor in my healing from this illness. Without the extra effort of pedaling that heavy bicycle day in and day out, pulling the laundry cart up and down the streets of our town, I might never have become a jet fighter pilot and later a 747 airline captain.

"We don’t always know the details of our future. We do not know what lies ahead. We live in a time of uncertainty. We are surrounded by challenges on all sides. Occasionally discouragement may sneak into our day; frustration may invite itself into our thinking; doubt might enter about the value of our work. In these dark moments Satan whispers in our ears that we will never be able to succeed, that the price isn’t worth the effort, and that our small part will never make a difference. He, the father of all lies, will try to prevent us from seeing the end from the beginning."