You know how it is… you have so much to do, so many important things… but somehow you can’t get motivated… all the things you have to do weigh on your mind… so heavy…and yet … you respond to text messages and emails… you play Candy Crush or 20-48 or Words with Friends or some other mind-numbing game… your priorities weighing and you ignoring…
This situation, a well-known first world problem, is easily diagnosed. The symptoms include the inability to focus on what matters, easily distracted, short attention span. If labeled as ADD you take meds… The real problem is: GALACTIC INTERFERENCE. GI syndrome. Yes, galactic interference. The stars are not aligned for you to get your work done. It’s not your fault that you can’t focus… that you jump about like a flea on a big dog… no… you are innocent. It is galactic interference.
It’s such a relief to finally have a diagnosis. Once you have a diagnosis, you can deal with the situation so much better. Now you have a path.
The cure for galactic interference is simple and manageable. It does not require any drugs, shots, pills, physical violence. The cure for galactic interference is this: take one small step forward that will take you closer to your goal. One small or even tiny step forward. Don’t look at the whole picture! That turns GI syndrome up 1000 fold. No! Simply take the next tiny step that will move you forward!
That is easy-peasy! The key is: once you start moving, no matter how small the step, you keep moving. It’s a law of physics: an object in motion stays in motion (and an object at rest stays at rest). As soon as you get yourself on the right path, moving forward with your one tiny step– voila! You’ve done it! You’ve broken the GI Syndrome! So do the next tiny simple step to move yourself that much closer to your goal.
For example: if your goal is to plan your family’s spring break vacation, one tiny step is to know the exact dates of the break so you can make your plans. So get the exact dates. OK. Check. Your next decision could be to decide between snow or sun. For me, a no-brainer– but you might enjoy lugging all sorts of gear hours by car to a cold climate…whatever! The choice is yours! Just decide. Small tiny steps moving forward. Does the dog stay or go? Do you need to bring food, buy there or eat out? Each step brings you closer to achieving your goal.
What if your goal is different. What if your goal is to lose 10 pounds by June 1st? The first step is to figure out what you need to do every day. So thinking backwards, May, April, March that’s 3-1/2 pounds per month– so let’s say 4 pounds per month, which is one pound a week. You have to drop 1 pound each week. What small tiny steps can you do each day to make that happen? If your big WHY is because you have a special event, keeping that posted in front of you will help you at weak moments. Also, the key moments are when you are at the grocery store. So small steps are to buy more fruit and vegetables and leave the cookies, crackers, and salty snacks. Small decisions add up to big gains (or drops in this case!)
Galactic interference keeps you from achieving the goals that are important for you. You can overcome GI Syndrome by taking small steps in the direction you want to go every day. Big goals can be overwhelming and by doing something, even if it’s really tiny, every day, you will eventually win in the end.