One of the questions on the “excuse-addiction” quiz I used to give out, available is about the lottery. A whopping 93% of respondents said they often dream of winning the lottery. Not occasionally, but very frequently and consistently. At the same time, a hefty 64% admitted that they lose track of time when on social media, and close to 70% often feel that if they want something done right, they need to do it themselves. Can you spot the disconnect here? It reminded me of how easy it is to misplace our energy. The draw of staying connected throughout the day with friends and family online is SO powerful, isn’t it? As for considering things done right only when we do it ourselves, well, that’s nothing but ego and perfectionism right there! (I’m sheepishly raising my hand right now… “Guilty!”) But surprisingly, when it comes to the Lottery, we fail to make the connection between our beliefs, our energy and our outcomes.
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We conveniently ignore the odds about winning the lottery, which is less likely to happen than being hit by lightning… Twice... And we enthusiastically cast our bets in hopes that the Universe is on our side and we’ll somehow beat those dire statistics. It’s fun and harmless when the jackpot reaches astronomical heights and the temptation to play is just too strong to resist. Hey, why not? However, for those who say they often dream of winning, it begs the questions: “Where are you focusing your energy?” “Are you dreaming as much about goals within your realm of possibility and control?” For those of us who often need to get it “just” right, or it’s all wrong, there’s the question, “How can something so out of your control, like the Lottery, feel like a viable solution?”
When we are in deep excuse-addiction, we tend to feel so out of control of our lives, that we subconsciously make the decision to leave living our dreams to chance, rather than risking failure if we try to get there on our own efforts. It’s not that we don’t try. We try new things every day in pursuit of our goals. For the excuse-addicted, keeping the momentum going and getting to the finish line is the main challenge. By the way, where is the finish line, anyway? Perfectionists keep pushing it forward. Those stuck in Ego swear they crossed it long ago and blame others for making them focus on the wrong line. Those who regularly misplace their energy struggle to focus long enough to even find it. The lure of the Lottery offers the quick fix we need because we don’t trust our own ability to stay the course. So, what now? How do we redirect our Lottery dreams and focus on making it happen ourselves?
1) Start Small. Pick a goal that you always struggled to achieve but never relinquished your dream of making it happen. Whether it’s losing extra pounds, learning a language, building extra income or finding true love. Next, make a list of 7 activities that need to happen to start moving in that direction. There could be 100 things needed, but I want you to just list 7. Choose just ONE activity from that list and work on it for 20 minutes tonight.
2) Subscribe to Excuse Breaker to keep you on track with focused accelerators twice a month, to help you break those stubborn excuses, keep you out of ego, perfectionism and misplaced energy, and achieve your goal faster.
3) Work on the same activity for 20 minutes every day this week. If you’ve already completed it, pick another one and work on it. Set the timer on your cellphone for 20 minutes, remove the distractions - turn off the TV, go in the bathroom or sit in your car (drive away and park in a mall if you have to) - and work on nothing but that one thing until the timer goes off. Do it again tomorrow. And the next day. And all week.
3) Buy a lottery ticket. Compare the results of your lottery ticket to the progress you’ve made on your activity that week. See which one won.
4) Repeat each week until you either win the lottery or accomplish your goal.
How about you? Are you stacking the odds in your favor?