The other morning I woke up in a funk. Fuzzybrain, feeling a little overwhelmed and wishing I could be transported to some tropical island. I’m sure you’ve had a moment like that before.
I’ve learned that my best weapon in these moments is my journal. No wonder they call it “the dishwasher of the mind.” No exaggeration, after about 10 minutes I could feel my spirit lift and my mind clear up. In another 10 minutes I was straight-up fired up for the day. What a drastic shift!
Here’s how it happened: I audited myself.
“Audit” might not be a term you’re familiar with when it comes to your own personal development, but for me it’s an essential, recurring practice. In this case I simply took the 6 High Performance Habits developed by Brendon Burchard and wrote them down in my journal.
- Clarity
- Energy
- Necessity
- Productivity
- Influence
- Courage
As soon as I saw those words on a page, one of them jumped out to me, and I realized that my “Necessity” tank was running low. What does that mean? According to Brendon, “We change and improve over time only when we must.” That’s right. My “must” was dangerously low. And so I needed to lean in and dig in the soil of WHY for a bit. I needed to remember my reasons.
- My family
- My calling
- My community
- My future
I needed to remember what’s on the line and what will happen if I don’t show up as my best self today. I needed to feel the pressure – the good pressure of necessity.
I’ve got to be honest – it was a quick turnaround that morning and it led to a great day. Just a few hours later I was sitting in a cool Portland-area coffee shop investing a few minutes to write because they were available after my fast and furious morning of productivity. I’m reminded that there are a zillion things in my life and in the world where I don’t have control. But when it comes to my own effort, I’m the CEO. And underneath that effort is necessity.
Tomorrow you or I may wake up in some kind of funk. And if we do, let’s take a few minutes to evaluate – to audit our lives – so we can get ourselves ready for the challenge of the day.
This article originally appeared on GabeKolstad.com and is reposted here by permission.