TACKLING THE RED ZONES

Our tomorrows are an accumulation of today's decisions. Imagine what our lives would look like if the number of "right decisions" that we made were to increase significantly. Isn't that something we do have control over? When we think that tomorrow will take care of itself we're not taking responsibility for the future. We like to justify our less than beneficial decisions. When the "bad" decisions add up over a period of time they end up being harmful to our physical, mental and financial health. Tomorrow is a creation of all of the decisions that we make today. Healthy decisions lead to better lives, it's that simple.

When we think of celebrating our successes in life, we think it's ok to break our disciplines in order to celebrate. The success is probably a result of hard work and it might have taken a long time to accomplish. We turn around and ruin our track record when we justify bad decisions in the name of celebration. We set ourselves back in other areas. Once we break our good habits they are that much harder to reinstate. Sometimes we never get back on track at all.

If we look at the triggers that tend to trip us up in life we can identify our red zones. Entering a red zone is one step toward breaking our promises to ourselves. Acknowledging our good decisions is important because we tend to focus more on our bad ones. If we give ourselves kudos every time we do the right thing instead of beating ourselves up for doing the "wrong thing" we're putting our attention on the behavior we want to reinforce. The first step toward making a change is to take full responsibility for where we are today. It's so easy to blame our disappointments and failures on something or someone. Taking 100% of the responsibility for not being where we expected to be by now allows us to move forward from that point. Then we can take full responsibility for making the kinds of decisions that will put us in a different place in the future.

When we start a new venture enthusiastic and it's easy to get inspired. Then the glow wears off and our commitment to the goal wanes. How badly do we want this thing? Is it worth it to us to take the necessary steps to get there? What are the necessary steps? Do you know yourself well enough to determine what kind of support will you need to stay on track? Some people are self motivators and some are not.

We fear failure because of the disappointment that comes with it but we also fear success because we think it separates us from others or that we have taken away someone else's success by achieving it our self. The greatest gift we can give our children is to be successful at everything we attempt in order to teach them how to create that for themselves. It's important to pass on the message to the next generation that success is a good thing and isn't taking anything away from anyone else.

Be sure that the goals you set are the goals you really want to achieve. Take the time to re-valuate them periodically. If you continuously let yourself down step back and look at the reasons why you continuously sabotage yourself. Find a life coach or a therapist to help you work through these issues until they are resolved.