In Ep 170 we talked about making a choice about what consistent, daily actions will do for the things you want to make a part of your life. 

I asked you, what do YOU want to do?

And then I asked the harder question,

How consistent are you with doing it????

Today’s episodes is meant to bring encouragement as you work towards:

• Overcoming procrastination
• Finding motivation when it’s not your natural way of doing things and
• Teaching you about the deeper purpose of time management.

I love this quote by Emerson:

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an action and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny”

That’s where we’re going today!!

Time management is about more than what you schedule into your day or how much you can get done.

Effective time management is how you manage your energy, your health. and your relationships.

Think about how each of these has an impact on what you can actually DO each day.

Time Management is about your mortality.

Time Management is about your priorities.

Time Management is about positive well-being and experiences.

It’s about how you feel while doing what you’ve decided is the best way to spend your limited time.

There is no self-care without good time management.

Time management is about removing things just as much as what you can fit in.

Good time management is also energy management.

Use your energy to focus on DOING and doing what matters the most to YOU.

Overthinking causes you to get in your own way, but that doesn’t mean to just do things mindlessly.

Begin by embracing the action instead of using so much of your energy to avoid it.

Stop trying to get out of the work.

There is only so much time each day.

You can argue that everything is valuable and important.

But only you can take control of your schedule.

Only 10% of what we do is in the conscious part of our mind.

90% is in the subconscious.

This is the soul of the human being.  It makes up who we really are.

Whatever you do the most, conditions the subconscious mind.

These patterns are what create the habits that define who we really are.

There are two types of patterns that create what happens in our day.

There are Subtractive Thought Patterns and Additive Thought Patterns.

Subtractive Thought Patterns are the way you talk to yourself by saying things like, “I can’t do this.”  They take away from what you can do.  Research actually shows that 77% of everything we think is negative!  Doesn’t that blow your mind?!!!  77% of what goes through the average person’s mind is counterproductive!

Subtractive thoughts are negative thoughts and negative self-talk.

These subtractive thought patterns can occupy your conscious mind, but they will never change the actions that you take and are an exhausting way to live.

Additive Thought Patterns are proactive, building, actionable positive statements, and are mostly done in the subconscious.

I’ve been reading some of the research Dr. Craig Manning has been using with high performance athletes.  But it also works with people like you and me.  I’m sharing some of the things he teaches in this podcast and using them to help us understand why we procrastinate and how we can become more motivated in the things we choose to do.

We’ve all heard that practice makes perfect.

Dr. Manning’s whole theory says that practice does not = perfect.

He says instead that practice makes permanence…. So be careful what you practice.  We have to practice using the right skills.

If you want to become a high achiever at something you’ve chosen to do, you have to get rid of what is getting in the way, and practice that.

A great question to ask when choosing what to practice is, “What do I need to DO daily to make me better at that?”

Put your energy into what you love to do the most and that gives you a better mindset to grow in that thing.  When you do the opposite of that, it cause you to coast instead of grow.

Did you know that your mind doesn’t understand the word DON’T?

I’ve heard this before in many different ways.  It’s kind of hard to wrap your brain around that.

When you say that you DON’T want to do (blank), your mind doesn’t hear the word DON’T.  So your subconscious brain is learning to want to do the opposite of what you’re telling it NOT to do.

See, hard to wrap your brain around, right?

Instead, trying programing your mind to what you’re going to DO, instead of what you’re NOT going to do.

In other words, talk to yourself only in what you want to do.

Like, I want to eat healthy foods.

This would take the place of telling yourself NOT to eat candy bars.

See the difference?

The biggest thing that can get in your way is when you focus on what NOT to do.

There are 3 sources of things that get in your way of being an Additive Thinker:

1-Self-Doubt

2-Negative Intelligence

3-Worry About Others

I’ll share a little about each one.

If you really want to dive in deeper, I suggest reading Dr. Manning’s Book, “The Fearless Mind”.  Super interesting stuff.

Self-Doubt creates subtractive thought patterns.

When you doubt what you are capable of you are creating patterns where fear exist in the back of your mind.  Feeling like you “can’t” is very negative and creates fear in your subconscious.  This is why your actions become negative.

You can counteract self-doubt with Self-Belief.  Self-Believe creates a “Can-do” Mindset.

If you can occupy your mind with 2-3 thoughts at one time of what you are going to do, of things that you really want to do, you begin to believe in yourself.

You create actions that are moving towards who you want to become.

Use thoughts like:

I will do this

I can do this

These are PROactive words instead of reactive words and these create different results than fluffy positivity.

These thoughts help you to take action instead of waiting for others.

As with everything I teach on this podcast, do this change in beliefs with self-compassion. 

Do things because you love you. 

Tell yourself you did a good job.  That you put forth great effort. 

Whatever you wish someone else would say to you or do for you, DO IT FOR YOURSELF.  Then if someone else does it, it’s extra, it’s not expected, needed, or waited for in order to do something.

Let’s talk about Negative Intelligence next.

Negative Intelligence is an accumulation of what not to do.

Remember, we move towards whatever we focus on.

Instead, turn the negative intelligence into positive intelligence.

Do something every single day that will get you closer to your goals. 

Commit to it!  And don’t break a commitment that you’ve made to yourself!!

This will give you a dopamine rush that builds confidence instead of creating the need for more dopamine.

Focus on what you’ve DONE, not what you need to do.

I actually have a LOT more to say about what I’ve learned about this. 

I’ll be doing an entire podcast on Gap verses Gain thinking so look forward to that!

Take the time to celebrate the successes you make!  Moving forward is always worth celebrating!!  It also keeps you from burnout, which we will also talk about in that future episode.

Our last distraction that keeps us from Additive Thoughts Patterns is Worrying About Others.

Becoming interdependent is imperative if you want to move forward with more positive thought patterns.  Remember, interdependence is when your independence is combined with another’s and together, you become better.

Don’t forget that you can only control what is in your control.

The only thing you have control over, is your SELF!

Become Self-accountable.

Would you be shocked if I told you that almost every psychological condition is rooted in control?  Trying to gain control over what you will never have control over is the main contributing factor to negative mental health.

Those people that are the most successful in life are always working on themselves & then using that to help others to develop.

You must pay attention to what works for YOU.  Keep your eye inward if you want to be able to help other outwardly.

I want to challenge you to commit to doing something every day that moves you towards something you really want to become better at. 

Consistency is everything.

What if you began by committing to doing one thing every day for a week?

What if you grew that to committing to doing something every day for a month?

Continue that momentum by committing to doing something every day for a year!

Keep the chain alive!

That is what I’m going to do.

I am my new year right now.  If you remember, I start my New Year’s goals on my birthday every year and that happens to be in November.  So, I am in my New Year’s goals setting season right now.

I have printed off a calendar that goes from December 2024 through November 2025 and I am committed to building a chain of days and not breaking that chain.  I am putting the calendar up on my office wall that I look at every day.  I’ll do a podcast soon about how that is going and what I chose to do every day.  I hope you’ll join me in creating a chain of positive momentum.

Here’s a few pointers to keeping that daily chain connected!

#1: You have to work on it daily.  Not breaking the chain means daily practice.  When you choose who you want to become, chose what daily action you will take to enjoy working towards that.  Don’t forget, this is something YOU chose that is important to you.

#2: Celebrate your wins.

Dr. Manning gave this piece of advice on how to best celebrate what you’re accomplishing.

He encourages you to think every night about something you did well and something you can do better. 

Really push your mind to go deep as you think about this.

What did you learn as you were practicing today?

You need these wins in your head, not just written in a notebook

It’s more than what you do, it must become a part of who you are and who you are becoming.

#3: Be accountable to yourself

Be really deliberate about making the time to keep the chain going.

Time is your greatest asset and using your gift of agency to choose how you’re going to use it is a very powerful practice.

Ask yourself honestly, “What do you want to do with your life?” then, create the time you need to practice something daily that will get you there and enjoy the process while you are doing it.

This is really powerful stuff!

This can change how you view your time.

Stop telling yourself stories that keep you from reaching your goals.

Turn them into positive, additive thought patterns that get you where you want to be, that create WHO you want to become!

That changes everything in your life.