What Stops People From Progressing In Life

Recently, I've heard a few folks say, "I've lost my motivation."

When I asked them why, they couldn't identify what had happened. For many, it's because they've accepted their status quo.

"Accepting the status quo stops people from achieving."

Where do people normalize in their lives that then saps their motivation and momentum? 

• Long hours with no time for exercise or cooking saps your body of feeling good and energized
• Busy work or toxic work environments burn energy trying to "get by," not work that build towards legacy, contribution, and connection.
• Feeling comfortable right now and not pushing for growth and excellence in the future
• Waiting for too long for "tomorrow" when they will do all the things they want or need to do

For too many folks, we accept things as they are and never notice that we NEED to change things.

When I worked at Apple, so much of the work was not to ignore pain and to speak up. Was it annoying trying to launch the app? Write a bug report so the team can fix it. Notice a path in the grass between buildings in Cupertino? Build a sidewalk on the path everyone was using in the grass.

What do other software companies or companies do instead of noticing the pain? They try to control everything around the problem. That's why there is software that takes forever to launch, and it drives ME NUTS! That's why organizations fence up around the most efficient path between office buildings and add to people's travel times. 

So how can we recognize the pain and think more like Apple?

We need to notice and create our DAFD list.

What is DAFD? It's our dread, avoidance, fear, and daydream list.

Let's go through some questions to create a list of why we are delaying our progress:

1. What do you dread doing each day?
2. What do you avoid each day?
3. What are you the most afraid of each day?
4. What do you daydream you could do more of each day?
5. Review your answers, and ask, 'Does this get me closer or further away from the success, growth, abundance, connection, and progress I need in my life?"

With this list, and noting if each item moves your closer or further away from your grand ambitions, dreams, and purpose, we can start to dig into why your motivation has gone.