In my role as coach I often say: if you really want to be focussed and move towards your goal, do two things, create a sense of urgency and cut off your way back.
If it's urgent you will be focussed and you will quit to procrastinate and waste time. If you want to save someone from drowning you jump in the water as soon as you can, you don't go home first to change and put a swim suit on.
If there is no way back you can only move forward. Have you ever crossed a river or a pond on thin ice? If you did you know that you have to move fast, decide fast and above all you can't stop and for sure you can't go back.
Hernán Cortés the 16th century conquistador new that on his quest to conquer an empire so extensive in its territories, known now as Mexico, with only 600 poorly armed men, could only be undertaken by a man with a death wish. But, with only 3 words Cortés changed the history of the New World: “Burn the boats.”It was a decision that easily could have backfired. Because if Cortés and his men were on the brink of defeat, there wasn’t an exit strategy in place to save their lives. Remarkably though, the command to burn the boats had an opposite effect on his men because now, they were left with only 2 choices: die, or ensure victory. And fight they did.
Cortés made sure that there was no way back and the only option left was to achieve his goal or die trying.
Now Cortés' way sounds pretty drastic, but I would like you to focus on the mental picture of it. We often say you shouldn't burn the bridges behind you. Well, I believe in some cases you should. I understand that it's a hard decision to know which bridge to burn and which one not; but thinking in this way will make you move forward and not go back, because there is no back.
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"Be inspired and you shall inspire." ~ JD
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