Be Flexible By Master Coach Keith Rosen

Be Flexible to Succeed Your routine will evolve! A client of mine told me that if he is unable to follow through on one thing he had planned for in his routine, he'd become frustrated and toss the rest of his routine out the window for the remainder of the day. While he believed he was a good self-starter, he wasn't good at re-starting. In his mind, his routine was either perfect and in sync or it didn't work and he'd give up on the remainder of his schedule. There is another alternative that exists which will prevent you from becoming a victim of "Either-Or Thinking." After all, there's a big difference between having a perfect routine and having an effective routine, so don't get caught up in trying to make your routine "perfect" the first time around. The fact is, even though one item on your routine may not go according to plan, the remainder of your routine may be effective and work great. I can assure you, as you enhance and strengthen your relationship with time and continue to refine your activities so they best support your goals, your routine will evolve as well.

Instead of thinking, "My routine is not working" or asking yourself, "Why can't I follow this?" use this as an opportunity to learn how to better manage your time and make your routine even more effective. Ask yourself, "What can I learn from this?" "Am I over committing?" "What needs to change?"

Be creative when developing solutions for managing your-self. If one strategy doesn't work for you, don't force it. Instead, see what you can to do modify it so that it's better aligned with your values, talents and strengths.

Here's another thought. If you have a tendency to deviate from your routine once you encounter one component that's not working, consider this may be one of your diversionary tactics (Chapter Eight, b). In other words, this actually gives you the right not to follow your routine!

Remember, perfection is paralysis. There will be times when you will be able to honor your routine completely and times when you will not. (More on this below.) Give yourself permission to go through some learning curves and make adjustments. If you can't honor your schedule perfectly, that's okay. Give yourself a break! All that may be needed is a simple revision to the timelines you have allocated for certain activities. However, if you are having trouble honoring your routine throughout the week, you may need to take a closer look and evaluate where the breakdown is. Being flexible and open to change will enable you to think clearly and uncover new solutions and opportunities that would otherwise go undetected.

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