How You Can Use Planning To Win Each Day
To create a strong house, you need to plan its foundation.
Do you often let external circumstances set the tone for each day? Do you allow other people and situations to trigger feelings of anger, frustration, impatience, and more that leads to unwarranted reactions?
When we allow other people and elements to influence our emotions and therefore dictate our behavior, we surrender complete control.
Emotions are a physiological response, something that is apart of us as humans. We make sense of our emotions by applying meaning via our mental state; we call these feelings.
It’s okay to feel anger, frustration, fear, impatience, tiredness, and annoyance, but it’s our responsibility to recognize the impressions we create based on the influence of external forces.
Whereas feelings helped us survive long ago from predators, left unchecked today, we often abandon rational thought and decision-making.
One way to address the stressors and events of each day is to stay ahead of the curve.
Turn each day of your life into a better day by visually creating the day you want to live.
Immerse yourself in feelings of accomplishment, happiness, and gratitude by completing small tasks that you create for yourself based on goals.
There are various theories of when you should plan your day, but I like to plan my week on Sunday, with daily tasks planned the night before the next day.
For example, when Tuesday morning comes and things don’t go as planned, I’m stressed, hurried, and fearful about the day. Like many, what else can go wrong? I curse the day.
However, I find confidence and peace in knowing that the night before, I identified the most important thing I needed to do today, and if that gets done, then it was a good day.
I’ve completed my most important task, then I can worry about what remains. Stress-free. I’m in control. Not my fears. Not my worry.
Try what works best for you the night before or early before you start your day. Spend 10 minutes or so thinking about your most important tasks, whether for the week, month, or year. Break this down into what needs to be done today to get you to that goal. Do this.
Next, take 7 minutes to visualize completing the task and the remainder of your day.
No matter what happens, what your boss does, or co-worker, how would you like to spend your workday?
In what mood?
What can you do if you need self-care?
To calm down and re-focus?
As you go throughout the week, switch it up, what kind of people would you like to meet?
Who would you like to interact with more or less?
How would you like to feel for the majority of your day?
Write the answers to this down in a journal, tablet, planner, or your phone. Keep it portable, close to you so that It can be reviewed anywhere you go.
Write some positive words or quotes.
I know I can accomplish anything I set my mind to.
I never give up.
I am a unique and worthy person.
I accept what I cannot change.
I make the best of every situation.
I focus on the positive.
I turn obstacles into learning opportunities.
When overwhelmed, refer back to the words you choose and where you record your days; keep it simple: what’s your most important task right now? Once you complete it, move to the next.
Call to mind images of the things you visualized earlier and allow good feelings to flow over you again.
Keep positive; to create a big beautiful home, you need to begin planning a strong foundation. So even if you don’t see success quite yet, stay focused by knowing what you want out of each day.
There’s calm in being organized. When we’re stressed, it may seem as there’s too much or we don’t have enough time.
With organization, everything has a place, and we can see exactly what needs to be done at the time it should be completed. Instead of looking at a stress-inducing project, we can see small, manageable tasks.
With the effort to visualize and plan our days, good things start to happen because we free ourselves from distraction.
The next time you get knocked off track by what someone said or because of an event that day, check-in with yourself: How is this distracting me from my goal today?
Thanks for reading. Follow me @modern.therapist
