(3 minute read time)
It seems like bad news has been rampant in the lives of those I care about lately. Every few days or so there’s a new health issue, a relationship in turmoil, a loved one passed, financial troubles, problems at work, or challenges with the kids. Maybe you’ve seen the storms too, in the lives of those you love, or perhaps you’re dealing with your very own storm.
When we think about handling all that keeps getting thrown at us, often it feels huge and weighty. Like it’s all just too much.
The problem is our internal “zoom lens”. We misuse our imagination to zoom out into the future just far enough to be a problem. We envision the difficulties of our circumstances. We envision the challenges, the obstacles, and all the effort it’s going to take to overcome them.
And then we stop right there.
We don’t zoom out past those hard parts and envision ourselves actually overcoming them. Rising to the challenge and succeeding. We stop just short of that image.
Such short-sightedness is what often stops us from growth, change, and creating intentional results. It keeps us recycling the same life, enduring it – not enjoying it.
Here’s a workaround…
Zoom OUT bigger than you have been & also zoom IN much smaller.
Zoom out – look at the bigger picture, beyond the effort. Think about WHY you’re even doing the things you do… Why do you go to work every day? Why do you help a friend in need? Why do you pay the bills? Why do you take care of the kids? Why do you stay with your partner?
These may seem like silly questions and you may feel tempted to answer “Because I have to”. While that may feel true (it’s not, but that’s another post 😉), challenge yourself to come up with other reasons too. Reminding ourselves of our why can reignite motivation – if it’s a good reason. Then, further that motivation by zooming out far enough to envision your future self actually achieving these things you’re putting time & energy into.
Next, we go to the other extreme and we zoom in, sometimes WAY in.
Ask yourself; “What’s most important today?”. Sometimes it helps to zoom in even further and ask “What’s the most important right now?”. Of course “important” is defined differently by different people and can vary from day-to-day. The point is to narrow your focus down to just what you can actually handle in a discrete amount of time. Maybe it’s sending one email, scheduling one appointment, organizing one drawer, applying to one job, paying one bill, signing up for one work out, declining one dessert… You get the idea. Make the chaos manageable by choosing and committing to one small step towards where you want to be. These tiny, consistent actions compound much faster than you think.
When I open the camera on my phone it automatically offers just 2x the zoom. If I want to go bigger or smaller than that, I have to do it manually – intentionally. The same is true in our lives. Could you use a hand with your zoom lens? I can definitely help. Click here to chat!
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