3 Steps to finding your One Thing & why you need it!

May 2022

Dear Readers, How are you all managing in the face of this Coronavirus pandemic? I hope and pray you and your families are healthy & doing well. Somedays are harder than others to stay motivated and positive, but I firmly believe there is a silver lining to EVERYTHING that happens in life. The way I see it, we are being given the opportunity to "RESET", personally, professionally, and mentally. As usual, I have a long list of TO-DO's and now during this "Stay home, Save Lives" order in place, I am able to tackle some of those neglected items. Included are finding ways to connect on a more personal level with old friends, family, and even my spouse who often gets put on the end of the list due to the never-ending responsibilities. Let's take advantage of this time to reset our priorities, focus, our goals, and plans for the future....how will you pivot and shift your thinking for your work? Your family? Your personal goals?

What can you do now that you didn't have time for previously or are just procrastinating on? What can you do now that will have the biggest impact on your personal and professional life? Do you know what your ONE THING is or do you need to discover it? If so, take this time and allow yourself to breathe, meditate, read and discover...what is your One Thing and how do I get there?

If you're anything like me when it comes to adding ideas and projects to your to-do list, it is never-ending. Somedays I just don't know where to start tackling them! As a creative, I seem to be continuously inspired by ideas I wish to explore, but I have to remind myself to focus on the most important tasks and what will make the biggest impact toward that goal or project.

I can quickly jot down an idea on a sticky note for later exploration, but in order for me to maintain focus on the priorities at hand, reminding myself of "The One Thing" keeps me on track.

In an effort to focus in on "The One Thing", there is a wonderful book written by Gary Keller entitled, The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. I read the book and it has helped me greatly. Now when I face my day knowing that I'll be juggling multiple tasks and deadlines (or even now when stuck at home), I ask myself what is the One Thing that I can do right now that will make the biggest impact on my goal. Now is the perfect time to read this and learn about finding that focus, what that one thing is and how to make actionable steps that will lead you toward your goal.

In addition to the book, check out Zen Habits The One Thing by Leo Babauta. Zen Habits is a favorite blog site I have been following for years. Below is Bauabuta's simple solution to effectively and efficiently make our way through our ever-growing lists of tasks. It's an absolute must-read.

Highlights from LEO BABAUTA's Zen Habits

"Most of us have that One Thing on our task list that is the most important thing on the list, that would be the most meaningful … and yet we’re not doing it.

The One Thing is so meaningful and important that it brings up a ton of uncertainty for us, and causes us to avoid, run, distract, comfort, and procrastinate. It’s an old habitual pattern.

So how do we deal with this uncertainty and habitual avoidance?

I’ve been working on a 3-step method for this, very simple and it improves with practice.

So here’s the simple (not always easy) method:

1. Create a space. Put aside all the messages, social media, distractions, smaller tasks, organizing, and tidying, and checking on one more thing. Instead, have a small space (even just 10-15 minutes) for this important task, and nothing else. You can do it now: set aside the next 15 minutes for this task, and tell yourself this is the only thing you’ll do for the next 15 minutes. It’s that easy.

2. Meditate on meaning & feelings. For just a minute, mindfully drop into your body and feel your fear, resistance, frustration, and overwhelm. Let yourself feel it fully. Then let yourself feel the love you feel for those who you’ll be served by doing this task. Do they matter to you? (It might be you, loved ones, customers, a team, the world, etc.) Let yourself fully feel what you feel for them as if your heart were wide open. This step only has to take a minute or two.

3. Do the smallest next step. Now pick the smallest action you can take to get the ball rolling with your meaningful task. If you have a paper to write, can you just focus on writing a few paragraphs? If you have to do your taxes, can you just get your documents together? If you have to organize your house, can you just organize one drawer? Get moving, translating your love into a small action.

And repeat. It’s that simple! With this method, you’ll connect to the deeper reason you want to do the task, along with the fears that are coming up for you that are making you run from the task. With this connection, you’ll be much more able to move into it.

Once you are ready to move into the task, picking the smallest next step (instead of a huge step) allows you to move in with a lot more ease, and get the ball rolling. Then you can do the next small step after that … or throw in another short meditation to feel connected again.

Over and over, this method helps with your meaningful tasks, your One Thing that you’ve been wanting to do but dreading and putting off."

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

During this historical moment in our lives, give yourself this time to reflect- TIME is a gift that we never have enough of. It is the perfect time to define your One Thing, to work towards those tasks that will get you closer to it, and in the end, get to those extraordinary results we are all striving for.

To get a copy of this book, you may find it here: The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

I wrote this post using the method, with love, Britta