Eating Frogs

Several years ago I discovered a time management video distributed by Brian Tracy called Eat that Frog.  http://play.simpletruths.com/movie/eat-that-frog/. The idea of the video is that we all have annoying tasks that are big and complicated on our to-do lists.  These are the items we are most likely to procrastinate on. These over-due concerns weigh us down and erode our motivation and effectiveness. Most of us choose to tackle the quick and easy items on our agenda first to get them out of the way.  Tracy suggests that both our motivation and our productivity would benefit far more by tackling the bigger, more difficult tasks first. The video refers to these tough tasks as "frogs" and I have adopted that vocabulary.  I have shared that video with many clients and those who know me will often hear me talk about eating my frogs.  Thank you Mr. Tracy!

This week I ate a big frog on my list. Without getting into the gory details, this task was extremely tedious, required hours upon hours of paperwork and had serious and less than favorable financial consequences. The trifecta of motivation crushers!  So I bit the bullet, or should I say I "bit the frog" and did what I needed to do.  Like most of us, I had to push through the regret and self-deprecation that I tend to put on myself when I have let things go.

So now, it’s done, and although I am not happy with the outcome, I feel the familiar relief that comes after finishing a long overdue task.  But more than the satisfaction of getting it done, there is another very palpable take-away for me. Confidence.  

This is how it works…

When I take ACTION, I take some CONTROL back,

things aren’t happening TO me; I am participating.

When I take CONTROL, I feel POWERFUL and BRAVE.

When I feel POWERFUL and BRAVE, I gain SELF-CONFIDENCE.

SELF-CONFIDENCE  enhances my OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS.

So here’s the suggestion… Next time you feel completely overwhelmed, remember that Action is the answer.  As Theodore Roosevelt once said:

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing."

Maybe peace of mind is just on the other side of the lily pad!

imagecredit: dreamstime