Do You Have What it Takes to Make Significant Change?

November 9, 2010

When pursuing your Professional Destiny, the difference between knowing where you want to go and actually getting there is discipline. In my book, I talk about the four types of discipline—of the mind, body, soul and actions—that are essential for maintaining focus and staying on course. In an earlier post, I’ve written about discipline of the mind. Yet to accomplish anything great, you must also make sure both your mind—and body—are fit for the task. Here is an excerpt from Professional Destiny about how to achieve discipline of the body:

• Hone yourself for your best performance. Like a true professional, you need to practice your gift every day. To do this you must be fit, rested and have your physical and mental capacities about you. Avoid substances that numb your mind and distract you from your goals. Focus on being alert and clear.
• Get energized. To pursue your passion, you must have energy and be strong enough to be in the places you need to be. Your body is what gets you there so it is important to take care of it. Healthy food is like high-performance fuel. Your engine will work better with it. You need energy to go the extra mile and accomplish your goals.
• Get active. Physical activity and exercise gets you revved up. During any physical training you develop good habits that serve you in life such as developing mental toughness to get through pain, becoming laser-focused and forcing yourself to continue even when you feel like quitting.
• Do not see yourself as trapped inside a limited body. Your greatest driver is your will—your will to succeed. With a strong will you can accomplish almost anything.
• Be physically and mentally prepared for a race of learning and doing. Prioritize your action items and plot your course. Meet your appointments. Jump over any hurdles that threaten to hold you back so you can put them behind you. And then go full speed.
• Lose the weight. This refers not so much to your physical weight, as your energetic weight. Streamline your relationships and your possessions and take only the essentials that you need. This means pulling the plug on draining or unhealthy relationships and breaking the bonds to unnecessary material possessions that keep you anchored.

In a sense, making significant change is like preparing for a marathon. It takes commitment, stamina and a huge dose of physical and mental discipline. Now the question is… are you ready for the run?

Filed under: Career Change,Transition

Tags: career change, discipline of the mind, Professional Destiny, reinvention, transition