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Busy, stressed, unmotivated?

busy

Those 3 words… busy, stressed, unmotivated. Do you use those words in your daily life? Are they part of your general vocabulary? If you had to delete them from your vocabulary, could you??

I’ve been meaning to get this post up for a while… It was a talk by Shannan Ponton (Biggest Loser) that  made me sit up and think about how/when I use those 3 words.

I was busting to see Shannan speak when I was on the Carnival Spirit. I think I was the only one in a room full of a couple of hundred who took notes, but I had to! I love this stuff and I wanted to share it with you.

Here are some of Shannon’s points:

• “Stress” is a made up word used only by our generation. Shannan says this word need to be tossed and we need to never say it again. Shannan asked his Grandmother what it was like when his Grandfather went off to War. She didn’t say “oh Shannan it was so stressful…” instead she said “it was tough, but we got by.” I thought about this for ages. It’s true. I’ve been really trying to remove that word from my speech. It’s a word we use all the time. It’s an ‘excuse’ word.

• Delete the word – motivation. “Motivation” is another excuse word. Motivation stems from choice. You can’t be “unmotivated” – that’s just a cop out. You either make the decision to do something, or not do something. So if you say you’re unmotivated, you may as well say you’ve decided NOT to do it. Toss the word out and don’t use it again.

• We over-use the word “busy”. I am a shocker for this one! I have been trying so hard not to say it. It means that I might be implying that no one else is “busy”. Everyone is busy, so stop saying it Katrina!

• Tiredness is a state of mind and is not an excuse.

• YOU have the power to make the change. Only you can do it. When you’re ready. That readiness will come from your decision making – it’s either a yes or a no (with no excuses attached).

• Do you have people who suck the life out of you? Shannon says cut them loose. He was really passionate about this. Surround yourself in the people you like and who make you feel good. He says we are all influenced too heavily by the people we spend time with, so if there is a bad one in there, then it’s time to cut them loose. Life is too short. We’re all time-poor and we need to surround ourselves in positive people if we want to be our best.

• Everyone should win something in their life. Everyone is good at something and we should strive to be the best at it. Winning a grand final, or an award or a promotion gives us the benchmark for success. It makes you feel good and gives you the confidence to keep on winning in life. Aim to win something.

• When was the last time you “jumped for joy“? Think about it. He was asking members of the crowd. Most of the answers were tame and average. Shannon yelled NO! I’m mean when did you REALLY REALLY “jump for joy”? We have to jump for joy frequently. Being positive and excited and living in the moment will let you find those times to “jump for joy”. I loved this point.

• When was the last time you re-charged your battery? You can’t find the good, if you’re not recharging often.

• Lastly, when you’re tapped in to life you’ll reap the rewards.

::

As he finished up, my husband and I nodded at each other. Andrew doesn’t normally get in to this stuff, but we walked away feeling good. It was time for the both of us to never say the words “busy, stressed or unmotivated” again.

Can you delete these words?

12 comments

  • Dream House Trish

    Fantastic advice & so TRUE. I am a huge beleiver in surrounding yourself in positive people & you are right “stressed, busy, unmotivated” they really are just excuses. I never looked at it like that. Thanks!!!

  • Michelle Hayward

    Hmmm bit of a wake up call there for me Katrina!! A timely post – thank you <3

  • Deborah O'Brien

    Wise words, thank you….
    BTW, how did your fur baby go last night? x

  • Katrina Chambers

    Thanks for asking Deborah O’Brien. I listened to all the advice and last night I decided to lay out towels in the spot she does it and turn on a light nearby. I think she is confused and accidently does it before she wakes me. It’s like she knows she shouldn’t have done that buy couldn’t work out how to get out. And no wee this morning! We’ll see! X

  • Tahnee

    This is fabulous Katrina – thanks so much for sharing!

  • Erryn

    I am guilty of using and overusing all three. I’ve never had the negativity of these words pointed out to me so reading this was a massive realisation. Just what I needed!

  • Laney | Crash Test Mummy

    I need to get rid of “tired”, it plagues me! I often remind myself, I’m not tired compared with my grandmother and her 8 kids on the farm!

  • Carla @ My Yellow Heart

    I like the idea of deleting the word stress from my vocabulary. I don’t use it often, but Shannon makes a good argument of why we don’t need it x

  • Neen

    Thankyou Katrina, my kids say these words because occasionally they hear me say them. I will get them to read this post, it’s very timely, as teenagers they are open to other peoples advice !!
    Great piece that has made me think lots and lots about how I talk at home, at work I’m rarely tired, and often inspired……:) Neen

  • Cypd Nosurname

    Well said Katrina. You made a point. I specially love the “Surround yourself in the people you like and who make you feel good”.

    Precisely, the best way to deal with stress is avoiding and controlling it. Avoid it if it’s possible. Cut loose the people who makes you stressed out. But if you can’t (we all dream with doing it with our boss, right?), you should:

    – Reduce the time you spend with them
    – When you have to spend time with them, be assertive (not aggressive!). Control the conversation, talk about things you’re comfortable with, avoid touchy issues (religion, sports, politics..).

    Also, know how to behave when stress is unavoidable (keeping a positive mind, accepting that we can’t control every event in your life) and keep a healthy lifestyle.

    I have explained it with more detail, I hope you’re interested: http://coachingyourpersonaldevelopment.blogspot.com/2014/04/time-to-step-up-ways-to-manage-stress.html

    – David

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