I have a ritual I invoke at the beginning of each month. I evaluate my progress, review my accomplishments, and congratulate myself on what worked. That’s the easy part. Next, I determine where I fell short and devise ways to fix underperforming areas. Then I sweep it away.

Turning the calendar means a clean slate, and an opportunity to start again. But a do-over isn’t a free pass. I hold myself accountable and reschedule unfinished tasks. By letting my failures guide me, I have learned valuable lessons. My mistakes point out miscalculations. Dissecting the errors allows me to make course corrections, adjust my workflow, and I get another chance to be better. The one thing I keep in mind as I establish my new schedule is: my past performance is not an indicator of future outcomes. Instead, I set myself up to outperform last month’s wins.

How do you approach a new month?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

It’s easy to view successful people, entrepreneurs, star athletes, and envy their fame and fortune. They live a dream life, the existence we want for ourselves and our families. We wonder what makes them special and why our desires have not materialized. We don’t consider their path to greatness. Their road may have required sacrifices, no parties, missed movies, waking early, strict diets and forsaking staying out late. They have spent hours, days, weeks and years relentlessly pursuing their vision.

To advance toward our goals, we must make difficult decisions. Focusing on a single target means letting something else go.  In a world where they coach us to “never give up” we can find ourselves forced into a life of contradiction, tension, and lack of progress. We race through an endless list of activities. Exhausted and discouraged we try harder without focus, sporadically work longer hours and condemn ourselves to tread water.

By shutting a door we open opportunities behind other doors. How many times have you heard someone who has experienced a major failure say it was the best thing that ever happened to them? They had to quit one situation to reconsider their beliefs and free their minds to alternative possibilities. The truth is, only you can decide what is worth giving up.

What are you willing to let fall away to achieve your goals?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Contemplating a new project is exhilarating. Excitement runs high as we envision the joy and satisfaction we expect from a completed task. The pros far outweigh the cons, there is no question we should proceed. So why do we become experts at delaying? We know what it requires, the essential steps, but we procrastinate, we wait, we opt to pursue less productive activities.

Whether we fear failure, dread increased responsibility based on our success, or find ourselves paralyzed by the desire for perfection, we need an answer. We must tap into our passion. Procrastination lives in our heads and the fastest way is to move. Exercise, take a walk, spend time with optimistic people, get your blood flowing, feel the enthusiasm coursing through your body, then start work.

How do you find your magic?

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer