Position Yourself for Success

“Half the secret of success in life is just showing up!” – Woody Allen

For some, success is moving from the mailroom, to a cubicle and finally to the corner office. For others, it’s getting into shape in a healthy way, finding balance or love. Regardless of how you define success, rarely do people stumble into or attain it quickly. So why not make reaching your goals easier by positioning yourself for success from that start?

Since moving to my current apartment, I haven’t played my guitar a lot. And this bothered me, because I really enjoy the balance and relaxation it provides. I never really stopped to think what was keeping from picking it up more often. I just told myself, I was too busy or had something else to do, but I was determined to start picking it up more often.

Last week I began to do some spring-cleaning, it’s a little early, I know, but my apartment needed it! After everything was cleaned, I created some extra space next to my computer, (I spend a lot of time there). I decided this was the new space for my guitar rather than atop of my closet where it lie neglected. I figured I would practice it it more if I could see it. This was the first step of attaining my goal.

Now that my guitar is within arm’s reach, I do play it more – a lot more. How could physically moving my guitar affect the amount of time I play it so dramatically? For starters, it’s easier to get to and it stays in tune longer. Before moving it, if I wanted to play, I had to climb up and stretch out my arms until my fingers could grasp the neck and bring it down. Also, from lying flat it quickly became out of tune.

Fetching and tuning my guitar was so cumbersome that it was an all too easy choice not to play! By changing its position , I eliminated my biggest barrier to strumming my stress away more frequently. This one step put me in a position for successfully attaining my goal.

How can this tip be applied to others?

Body

Everyone wants to be fit, but some people just don’t make it to the gym or stick to a healthy diet. Why is this? What’s stopping them? Take a look at your fitness/diet routine, a few changes will make these goals easier to achieve.

A convenient gym location is wherever you will actually workout. If you work long hours and are tired after work, a gym near your office might be a good location. Same thing with your home, if you are too busy to workout when you’re home, then find a new gym! Find a gym that is in an neighborhood where you already spend time for other activities. Maybe you like to workout after shopping on the weekends. Well, the gym near the mall is for you! Workingout is hard enough, make getting to the gym as easy as possible!

We all know running is a great way to slim down, but what if you hate to run? The answer is — don’t. Instead, find a workout you actually like, it will fell less like work and you’ll probably stick with it. Give sports, rock-climbing, dancing, spinning or Yoga a shot.

But remember, exercise is only half the battle; you need a proper diet to stay healthy. Make dieting easier by buying only healthy foods. If your kitchen is stocked with healthy food, you’ll be less likely to eat junk foods. See, with a few tweaks you’ve positioned yourself for success.

Mind

Your skills and knowledge of a certain subject greatly effect how successful you will be in attaining your goals. Learning a new skill is another way to position yourself for success. Are you doing everything you should be to achieve your goals? Take a look at others who have accomplished your goals. Find out the most valuable skill they developed and learn it yourself. Is setting a schedule or communicating well critical to their success? You’ll be better off and more likely to accomplish your goals if you can hone your skills.

Soul

On your path to success, you’ll need to take some time to reflect and measure your progress. Are you moving forwards, sideways or backwards? Meditation, the ancient technique, will you help calm your mind, giving you the chance to evaluate your position. Even if you don’t meditate in the traditional sense, you need to examine your position; keep what is working and get rid of what’s not.

By positing yourself for appropriately, you’ll make succeeding easier. Remove annoying and time consuming constraints and you’ll have a better shot at living your dreams.

Just remember my guitar. A new position can have a profound affect.