"Lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do
what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action."

--Tony Robbins

How often during the course of your everyday life do you put off doing something? Here are some things that often show up on people’s unfinished to-do lists:

• Calling someone who needs to hear from you
• Apologizing for something you said or did
• Following up on a great idea you have
• Sending a note of appreciation, encouragement or congratulations to someone you care about
• Spending time with the people most important to you
• Self-care (exercise, healthy diet, stress reduction, rest)
• Planning

There's one thing in common with every single one of these activities. They are all important, but there is no deadline by which you must do them. That makes it easy to keep putting them off, since many of us live in such an "urgency" mindset that if it isn't urgent, it doesn't get done. If you put these things off until you find the time, they'll never happen! You must make the time.

Recently I spoke with someone whose mother just died. During our conversation, I asked how his father was doing. He said, "My dad is doing amazingly well under the circumstances. Mom was not well for a long time, and Dad stayed by her side every day. He has lived each day with no regrets."

If someone you loved were to die tomorrow, could you say the same thing? You can't turn back the hands of time. You can live your life so that there's no unfinished business at the end of each day. Never put off something important for tomorrow if you can do it today.

Take some time now to identify what you can do or begin today that will enable you to live a life with no regrets down the road. Write down your responses to these questions:

• Who needs to hear from you (friends, relatives, colleagues, etc.)?
• Have you said or done anything that you regret? Have you intentionally or unintentionally hurt or offended someone with whom you choose to apologize? Sincerely asking for forgiveness will benefit you, regardless of how the other person responds.  17th Century Poet, George Herbert, said it best: "He who cannot forgive others destroys the bridge over which he himself must pass."
  
• Do you have great ideas you have not taken action on?
  • Invention or business idea
  • Career shift (renegotiate responsibilities at work, new job, etc.)
  • An activity on your Bucket List (something you want to do)
  • Take a vacation
  • Make a purchase or investment
  • Delegate something (personal or professional)
  • Volunteer activity
  • Join something (MeetUp group, health club, etc.)
  • Other _________
• Who needs a note of appreciation, encouragement or congratulations from you?
• Who needs some of your quality time?
  • Friends
  • Family
  • Neighbors
  • Colleagues
• What can you do to take optimal care of yourself?
  • Exercise
  • Preparing healthy foods
  • Taking regular meal breaks
  • Stress reduction (exercise, meditation, visit with a friend, etc.)
  • Rest (breaks from work, uninterrupted sleep)
• Planning Time:
  • Bigger-picture life planning (quarterly, annual, 5-year, long-range planning)
  • Carve out time for most important activities, such as what you listed above (daily and weekly planning)
  • Financial planning (budgeting, investing, etc.)
  • Estate planning (will, trust, power of attorney, etc.)

"If you keep doing what you're doing,
you'll keep getting what you're getting.
One definition of insanity is to keep doing the
same thing and expecting different results."
--Stephen Covey

You are not a victim. If you have the great fortune to live in the free world, you have more choices than you may think. You do not have to stay "stuck" with what you have right now and sing the "poor me" song. If you don't like what you're getting, what do you choose to do differently so you can enjoy something different down the road?

Many people don't take the necessary action to achieve their dreams because
they are afraid of failure. While it's true that you may fail, it's also true that you won't ever achieve your dreams if you don't try.

I believe there are two main obstacles that hold people back from getting what they really want from their personal and professional lives - fear and lack of focus. In a previous newsletter I offered suggestions about how to get more focused. This month I offer tips to help you get unstuck by overcoming fear. Use the acronym F.E.A.R. to help you remember these four steps:

• FOCUS: What is most important to you? What does the end result look like? What steps are required to get you there?
  
  
• EXPLORE: What are you resisting? What warning signals are present when you resist? What is the ultimate fear behind these warning signals? What's the worst thing that could happen? Even if the worst thing did happen, could you live with it?
  
  
• ASSESS: What are your options? What action do you choose to take? What's next for you? What support could you get to help you?
  
  
• RESPOND: This is where the rubber meets the road - where you choose to say "yes" to the action you have chosen for yourself. If you are not ready to act, repeat this process until you are ready to move forward.

Renowned psychotherapist Susan Jeffers has written a book, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, which shows readers how to get what they want in spite of their self-sabotaging fears, turning passivity into assertiveness. The book offers suggestions about how to risk a little every day, how to turn every decision into a "no-lose" situation, and how to stop negative thinking patterns that say "I can't" and begin thinking more positively. 

Identify some activities above that you choose to do. Then reserve a standing "Weekly Planning" appointment time in your calendar with yourself. During this time, make additional "appointments" with yourself in your calendar to take the action steps you've identified above that will move you toward the life you desire in the future.

These important but not urgent activities will probably not happen unless they are scheduled in your calendar!

For more tools to assist you, read these articles:

• Article about Time Management Matrix and Weekly Planning Process
• Article about Six Styles Procrastination and How to Overcome Them

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