I was looking through an old notebook and I saw some notes from a Tony Robbins presentation (he is a leading success coach), who has a 3 decade head start on me in the personal transformation space.
- So he has great perspective, knowledge, experience and wisdom when it comes to doing the break-though stuff. So I will share his three things and then I will expand on them from a very practical perspective.
- Change your Strategy
Change your Story
Change your State
Now let’s dive straight in, to see how we can practically integrate each of these and make some major breakthroughs in your life.
Breakthrough Ingredient 1: Change Your Strategy
Am I allowed to paraphrase Einstein again??? Where is says if we keep doing what we always have done and expect a different result, then we are potentially ticking the insane box. Or at the very least the-not-too-clever box. Not where we want to hang out.
So part one is about doing things differently.
It is about the HOW.
If you want to experience a breakthrough you need to do things differently. And to do that you may need to do some or all of the following:
- Re-think your strategy
- Take a different approach
- Think outside the box
- Start from a different place
- Get external specialist assistance
- Increase your knowledge
- Make a commitment to do things differently
- Identify the MUST Do’s and do them first
- Throw out the old rule book
- Change your perspective
Breakthrough Ingredient 2: Change your story
This is HUGE!!!!!
If you keep telling the same old story, you will keep getting the same results.
When I see a new client I will let them tell me their ‘old’ stories of woes and how things went wrong, or what someone said to them, or what someone did to them, or how the system is against them, etc.
But after they have told me the ‘old’ story once, I am no longer interested in it. I say that the past does not necessarily equal the future and the more you live in your past story, the more it will repeat itself as you condition your mind to remain there.
Want a new result? Want a real breakthrough? Then you might have to change the story. You might have to take some ownership of where you are at. You might have to realise you are mentally stuck in the past as you tell the old story (which is not that differently from physically being there as the body will respond in the same way).
If you want to have a breakthrough, you need to start telling yourself (and others) a new story. A story about possibility. A story about what you might be able to do. A story about what you can do. A story about what you will change. A story about what you are capable of. A story that changes the way you feel. A story that lights you up (as opposed to pulls you down).
One of the stories I have found to be true is that we are all A LOT MORE capable than we think we are. That is a good story to start with if you are fresh out of ideas for now. 😉
So the practical bit is this: pay attention to the stories you are telling. Are they taking you backwards or forwards? And then start telling a story that truly serves you.
Note: Our memories are not 100% accurate. Maybe not even 50% accurate. The brain fills the blanks on what it thinks the memory is. So DO NOT get too attached to what you think did or did not happen in that argument you had 10 years ago. Start a new story.
Breakthrough Ingredient 3: Change your state
We talked about this last newsletter. The state you are in, in each moment, has a huge impact on the results you get. To have a breakthrough you need to ensure that you are in the best state of mind, the best emotional state and even the best physical state. The better you can show up in each of these, the better results you will get.
Continuing on with a Tony Robbins concept, he suggests we can change our state if we change 3 things:
- What we focus our attention on
- The language we use in our internal and external dialogue
- Our physical bodies.
One of the easiest ways to change our state is to jump up and down. Or move your body. It shifts things at a physical, mental and emotional level. Maybe listen to some music to get the body moving. Or take a walk in nature. Or go three rounds on a punching bag. Moving the body also creates movement in our brain, which impacts our thoughts and thinking.
Check in to see what language you are using. Is it emotively negative? Is it exaggerating the situation? Is it increasing your state of fear, or it is making you feel more empowered? The language we use, has a big impact on the way we feel and we can 100% control it. You cannot blame anyone else for the language you use (well you could, but you would also be lying ;-)). So know you have a lot of control over the results you get.
I know you know that what you focus on makes a big impact on how you feel. Focus on the bad and you feel bad. Focus on the good and you feel good. It might actually be as simple as that. When I look at the trees on a street I feel good. When I focus on the rubbish on a street I don’t feel so good. Hmmm. Maybe it is that simple (not easy, but simple).
Summarizing
You have ALL the power when it comes to experiencing breakthroughs in your life.
- You can change the way you do things.
- You can change the stories you tell yourself and others.
- You can change the mental, emotional and physical state you are in.
Which one might be letting you down? Is it 1, 2 or all. What would be best for you to work on over the coming weeks?
What could you do differently?
Different actions. Different results. 😉
The Final Takeaway
Let me just say again you are much smarter, capable, competent, resourceful, resilient, intelligent, than you tell yourself.
You have the power. 😉
As always, please ask questions of me, or share your thoughts in a response email or by putting a post on Facebook.