Have you ever put off a task or project for a long period of time in anticipation of the difficulty required in completing it?  I have.  One project that I dread every year is putting away the Christmas decorations.  My husband often teases me that I put if off so long it’s almost time to get them out again!

But this year I was able to remember last year’s experience, put it in perspective, and got the decorations stowed away neatly in the basement by, well, at least March.  Here’s what happened.

Last year, I had no trouble getting out all the storage tubs and getting the decorations out of the main part of the house and into the basement soon after the holiday was over – like January.  After that, however, they sat in the way, where we had to walk around them for several months, I think it was July.  (Hence, the teasing.)  When I finally got around to organizing the tubs and getting them back into their corner, I noticed that it only took 15 minutes.  Fifteen minutes!  I had been putting off this project that, apparently only in my head, was going to be long, laborious, and dreadful, when in fact, it was a fifteen-minute job.  I wasted more time walking around the boxes in those six or seven months than it took to put them away!

So this year, I remembered that amazing discovery and got to it a lot sooner.  I took a little more time and got things more organized – I probably spent 30 minutes.

We’ve all heard the paradigm of “if you have a big project to complete, break it down into smaller pieces.”  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Been there, done that – we get it already.  But this was a project that had already been broken down as much as possible.  I mean, the storage boxes were sitting about 5 feet from where they would eventually be stored, and rest of the house showed no signs of Christmas – just the basement.  The project was broken down, but so was my system, and my spirit for getting the job completely done.

So how do we motivate ourselves to do that last step, or lose those last five pounds, or take on that “big” project in the first place?  How can we combat that feeling of being overwhelmed in every day?

Steve Chandler is one of my favorite motivational authors.  I’ve read so much of his work I cannot remember which book this quote comes from, but I remind myself of this phrase almost every day now; “think of anything you have to do today as easy, and it will be.”

It’s so simple, and yet so powerful.  I often recall that little gem when I feel overwhelmed or feel like the task before me is so huge I’m tempted to put it off.  “Got to put away the Christmas decorations?  Oh, that’s easy – it’ll only take 15 minutes.”  Need to write a blog post?  Easy – I’ll have that done in 90 minutes from start to finish.  Need to write a section of my next book – easy!  I’ll just spend an hour.  Got to prepare a speech for my next conference?  Easy! I’ll create an outline first and everything will flow from there.

You don’t have to put a “because” statement behind it, but I sometimes find it helpful.  For example:

• Oh, that’ll be easy because I’ve already got it started.
• That’ll be easy because it just takes an hour or so.
• That’s easy because I did it last week and know more about what to do now.
• That’ll be easy.  Even though it’s been a while since I’ve done that, the steps will come right back to me.
• That’ll be easy because Susan is coming over to help and she’s really good at that.

The reason it works, is that once you establish this attitude of “easiness” in your subconscious mind, your subconscious becomes determined to make it happen for you.  And we all know how powerful and positive your subconscious mind is!  But prove it to yourself.

Today I challenge you to apply this attitude to any situation in your life that you’re struggling with.  Make a list of all the steps involved, think of the task ahead, and say, “Easy!”  Try it; you’ll be amazed.

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Posted under Education, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Weight Loss