Use Healthy Pressure To Achieve The Impossible
By Wendy Hearn

Do you feel you're capable of doing and being more? Do you have lots of ideas or things you want to do but, with your current workload, you think it's impossible? Well, what if it is possible? What if it's time for you to shake up the status quo; the way it's always been done?

What if it's time to put all your ideas and things you want to do on the table and find a way to actually do them? This suggestion isn't for the faint-hearted or those who are likely to feel overwhelmed by everything. It is for you if you feel ready to put some pressure on yourself. Healthy, positive pressure which requires you to be your absolute best. This is the key point; it's about who you need to be and not what you need to do. Sometimes it's necessary to increase the pressure on yourself to feel truly alive, productive and for life to be interesting. Pressure applied to yourself, if done in the right way, can inspire and get you into action, even massive action. Most people stop short of taking action; they spend more time thinking about what they need to do and analysing it all. This wastes so much time and energy. Time and energy that could be put to better use by taking action.

Putting pressure on yourself stretches you personally and breaks through the limits you've set for yourself. If you're ready for this pressure, the first step is to capture all your ideas or things you want to do on paper. You need to see them in black and white to give you clarity. Once you have everything on paper, keep adding to it as other ideas are uncovered and pop up in your mind. In this instance, instead of prioritising what you want to do and focusing on just a few things, I invite you to keep your mind open to the possibility of progressing them all. Well - progressing only the ones that are a perfect fit for you.

So, what do we mean about being a perfect fit? These are the things and ideas that are most important to you, the ones that sit in your heart. One thing that won't be in your heart is any 'shoulds'. Shoulds are other peoples' expectations and not what you most want. From all the items and ideas, pick out the things that are 'shoulds' and identify how you can handle these once and for all.

Now look at which of these ideas or things to do fit in with your vision, whether this is your personal or business vision. If they don't fit in, they're probably not important to you. However, if you think they are important, perhaps it's time to revisit your vision and update it.

Next, you need to be clear about your personal values; what you place the most value on. Remove from your list anything that isn't fully aligned with your values.*

Now comes the interesting part and the part that's likely to challenge you the most. You now have on your list only the things and ideas that are a perfect fit for you, so it's time to put some pressure on yourself.

Start by asking yourself, "What will it take to actually implement all these ideas or things to do?" Listen carefully for your responses. You may not want to hear some of them and you may feel resistance to them. This is normal and allows you to see the ones you need to pay most attention to. It's where you have resistance that you most need to grow and change. You may be too close to all this. You may need a coach who, as an outsider, sees it clearly for you and identifies what you most need to do or be. This enables you to leap ahead more quickly and easily.

If you're an entrepreneurial or creative person, your biggest resistance is likely to be not wanting other people to do some of these things for you. Yet this is probably the most important thing for you to pay attention to. You probably think you're the only one who can do these things and other people can't do them as well as you. This is a mindset that will keep you stuck because there is a way for others to do things as well as you do. The stretch you'll need to make is first in shifting your mindset and beliefs, and then to take the necessary action to enable others to do these things well.

Also, as an entrepreneurial or creative person, some of the things you may need to do include planning, defining processes and putting systems in place. All those things that you see as boring, uninspiring and not necessary. Yet they are essential for success. This is an area that may be a stretch for you and in which you may need to grow. You need to plan, define processes and implement systems to give you the freedom to focus on doing what you do best and the things you love. With these in place, most of it can be done by other people and will ensure that they do it in the way you want, giving you even more freedom.

As an employee, when you have clarity about the things you truly want to do outside of work, whether it's setting up a business or indulging in leisure pursuits, the stretch you may need to make is to complete your work during your working day and not feel compelled to do more or work longer hours, which are usually unnecessary. Put the pressure on yourself by asking, "What will it take to complete my work during the working day?" Perhaps your growth lies in needing to be more focused, productive, to delegate more or to find ways to be more effective.

The way to unleash your ideas and do what you truly want to do is to focus only on those that utilise your strengths, talents and unique abilities. It's now necessary to make the shift and be your absolute best. Anything that doesn't utilise all these fully, needs to be done by someone else. Ask yourself, "In what way can these things happen without me?"

This isn't about doing more and more; it's about who you need to be in order for these things to get done.

* To find out more about your personal values, visit
http://www.business-personal-coaching.com/TruValues.html