“Ah yes, its Monday. I have to be focused and productive again.”
“Now that the weekend is over, I have to go back to work.”
“I have to get up early today, or else I will get fired.”
Look at all of the things that we HAVE to do in life. Really, look at them in your own life. Write them down if you would like. How long is your list? Now, in a certain sense, what you HAVE to do, depends on what the consequence is. It also depends on what you are relating the action in question to. In this case, I asked about life. So your answers should have something to do with eating, breathing, sleeping, etc. In order to stay alive (to avoid the consequence of death), you HAVE to do these things. All other “have to’s” in our lives work the same way. You just need to discover what the consequence is. The “or else”.
Want to
The alternative to a “have to” is a “want to”. Instead of looking at the consequence, you look at the positive result of the action in question. You are drawn to this result, and you WANT to obtain it or achieve it. It’s not something you are running from, it’s something that you are running to. The difference may seem subtle, but it is HUGE!
To do anything, we need energy. This is why we eat, breathe, sleep, etc., so that we can build up energy to interact with the world around us. If everyone in the world was running from what consequences they want to avoid, the world would be chaos. If everyone was drawn to something and there were no consequences to flee, we would have peace on earth or heaven on earth. Some people believe that this is how the world will end, in one of those two fashions. In the meantime, how would you like to live your life?
Subconscious thought
Our minds work in much the same way. If we feel like we HAVE to do some sort of task, our minds will come up with all sorts of creative ways to avoid doing the task. This has been called “creative avoidance”. We can fill our day with all sorts of tasks and actions that are basically “good” and “productive”, but they keep us from our HAVE to task, so that is where we really subconsciously value them. Our mind is protecting us from it, since it is associated with the negative consequence of not doing it. When we understand the positive value of what will be gained from the task, then we WANT to do it!
My personal example today
This exact thing happened to me today! I woke up and sat down at my computer to start the work day. I knew that I had to write an article today, so why not start early? Well, I noticed that I had some emails in my inbox. Those have to be looked at eventually, right? So I sidetracked myself on that. I had a stack of CDs next to me that were not in my iTunes library. That will help unclutter my desk, and that’s a good thing, right? So I spent 30 minutes doing that. My running shoes are right next to me, I think that I will go out and get some exercise for my body and help to relax my mind! So I even went off to do that.
My mind can be a genious at getting me out of things. That’s why I procrastinated with tests and homework all through school. I allowed myself to be motivated by the negative result, and not by the positive of the completed task. So, when I locked on to the value of writing my article, I realized that I WANTED to do it. I saw the value in the completed product. The words just started flowing. And what a great feeling that is.
Brilliant! I love you!
Clever! I’m right there with you!