Do What You Know You Need to Do

Can you identify with any (or all) of the following statements?

My to-do list is really long, yet I can’t get anything done. I have so many things to do, but I can’t get started.

• What is the roadblock?

When I get started on one project, I start thinking about another one. I stop. I may or may not move on to the project I was thinking about.

• Do you find yourself jumping around like that?

I find small things to work on. I work on things that are short term, not really important. Moving in circles. Frustrated and confused.

• Do you recognize that emotion?

There is one thing that I know I should be doing, but I am not. That one thing sits right in front of my inner-vision, blocking the ability to see my way through to how to get anything else on my list done.

• Does this sound familiar?

I know what I need to do, but I am not. I have learned that if I can get that one thing off my list, out of my mind, it opens up my field of view and the rest of the work just flows.

• You've learned that much. Why does that one thing sit there blocking the way?

Making decisions is not easy. Sometimes, we want others to just tell us what to do or confirm that our decision is correct. Part of maturation and experience is to move forward in the face of the lack of information or changing conditions.

Mostly though, what we know we need to do is something we don’t want to do because it is hard, it is uncomfortable, it is risky. The fact that this idea keeps blocking everything else in our field of view should be a sign. If an idea, a project, a goal or commitment won’t go away and begins to consume our mind, this should be a signal that this is the right thing to do, and now.