This is called a virtuous circle I blog my running progress here “Run for Your Life”

So do you already know enough to start your dream project? Doctor Johnson the English dictionary writer and wit said “Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome”. The same could be said if you wait until you have every single skill.

I recently realized that I too already have sufficient knowledge but was hovering on the edge of the pool unwilling to enter. Worse than that I was waiting for success to come and meet me half-way! No I have to bolder than that, so this is my mantra “I know what I have to do; namely post more articles more frequently to the web so that is what I must do, never looking back or up to see how well it is working, and I do this persistently success will come, that I know”

So next time you are about to decide that you’ll never master some task or skill, remember how you learned to drive and battle on. It really is true that we are all capable of so much more that we have undiscovered abilities, but what was the key to your driving success — YOU COULDN’T GIVE UP — you needed it for your job and social life.

So next time you want to scream and shout and give up remember but I learned to drive I’m a Genius!!

What impressed me was once that Mark Zuckerberg got his idea he went into hibernation, programming day and night until he launched the prototype Facebook, he didn’t go out partying, he wasn’t training for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race like the Winklevoss’s he probably didn’t attend lectures or help out cleaning the communal areas. No he just caught the wave at its peak and rode it and history was made. When you get your big chance will you be as single-minded, as ruthless, as indifferent to what people think about you; big question eh?

It is much more fun to seek to improve our strong points but you can get much more leverage by nullifying a weakness!

At the worst you get 5 minutes work done and at the best you will have found a second wind, got focused and become productive. Of course what you are aiming for is to move into The Zone when suddenly work becomes effortless, the words just flow, the paperwork gets dealt with, you make that call you’ve been dreading, nothing seems a problem. But imagine if you hadn’t applied the five-minute trick you might have never got there you might have gone and switched the television on and watched a replay of the ball-game!

You can use the the 5-minute-more trick in the Gym as well or when doing jobs in the house. I actually hear my lazy inner-self thinking up excellent reasons why I should abandon my endeavour, you’ve had a long day, mustn’t tire myself out for tomorrow, it’s too cold or hot or windy and the most crafty one shouldn’t you be doing another task altogether.

Remember the other 5 minute rule that we often want to give up a task after just 5 minutes, 5 minutes into writing an essay or starting a run that’s the danger time before we’ve warmed to the task before we see any progress, you can use the five-minute rule to help you through this discouraging phase.

Go on do five minutes more…

1) You open a letter, deal with it and file it all in one go.

2) You complete one of the “hangers” on your to-do list

3) You need a document that’s stored in the loft, no problem you go off to get it.

4) You see a problem you fix it, your internal procrastinator doesn’t get a look in.

5) The more jobs you tick off the more energized you feel

6) Work doesn’t feel like work any more

Definition of in the flow

1. Clear goals (expectations and rules are discernible and goals are attainable and align appropriately with one’s skill set and abilities). Moreover, the challenge level and skill level should both be high.
2. Concentrating, a high degree of concentration on a limited field of attention (a person engaged in the activity will have the opportunity to focus and to delve deeply into it).
3. A loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, the merging of action and awareness.
4. Distorted sense of time, one’s subjective experience of time is altered.
5. Direct and immediate feedback (successes and failures in the course of the activity are apparent, so that behavior can be adjusted as needed).
6. Balance between ability level and challenge (the activity is neither too easy nor too difficult).
7. A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.
8. The activity is intrinsically rewarding, so there is an effortlessness of action.
9. A lack of awareness of bodily needs (to the extent that one can reach a point of great hunger or fatigue without realizing it)
10. People become absorbed in their activity, and focus of awareness is narrowed down to the activity itself, action awareness merging.

No-one cannot force himself or herself to enter flow or even predict when he or she is going to enter flow. It just happens. A flow state can be entered while performing any activity, although it is most likely to occur when one is wholeheartedly performing a task or activity for intrinsic purposes.

Catch22, I have to succeed at something to enter the zone, complete a difficult task, understand some inspirational, find a remarkable solution

I first discovered Anthony Robbins and then the earlier Napoleon Hill and now Machiavelli; so there’s nothing new under the sun (and that comes from the Bible)

When I’m in a low energy and lethargic state I know I have to get any thing done, organized or sorted out. I have to pick tasks which are easily achievable. As soon as I see a bit of my desk reappear I get my first boost of Serotonin . I can then venture to get something else done, get some phone calls out of the way, write a few brief letters, pay a few bills. I call this bootstrapping. Many of the jobs we are dreading turn out to be less difficult than we thought but getting them out of the way is a real pleasure. Of course ONE DAY I will start on my most important task and get a massive boost from knowing that I’ve finally mastered myself but that’s some time away!