In a previous blog, (Click here to read) we looked at 5 Tips for Executing on Your New Year’s Resolutions. As you continue to work towards the results you want, you may run into some resistance. Let’s look at how your Results System™ may be running interference.

Have you ever found that no matter what you try differently, you keep ending up with the same result? Have you felt stuck at times and been without a clue on what steps to take to move forward? That’s your Results System in action!

The Results System, developed by Sydney Rice, M.Ed, illustrates a masterful internal system that allows us to effortlessly repeat tasks and apply our ways of thinking and doing things as we have always done them. It is masterful in that the system allows us to create consistency in our results without a second thought. Yet, while the system often works for us, it can also work against us when what we are striving for is change and new results in our personal and professional lives.

As you can see from the illustration below, the Results System consists of two components, one above the surface and visible – one below the surface and invisible. Ms Rice writes that we are generally aware of about 80 percent of the visible component. So, for the most part, we are pretty clear about the goals that we’ve set, based on the choices and options we feel are available to us, that lead to the tangible actions we take, and thus create our results. Below the surface of the system, we have the invisible perceptions, beliefs, habits, expectations and assumptions that we are likely to be largely unaware of. At times, without us knowing it, this invisible side of the system limits our ability to make the changes we want to make. It truly wants to keep us safe by repeating the patterns that have worked for us in the past…even though they may not be working for us now.

In order to master our Results System, we must shine the light on the invisible aspects and determine which ones are supporting our efforts to change and which must be reexamined and replaced with new beliefs, habits and assumptions that will allow us to move forward and obtain the results we desire. Making these shifts, in a conscious way, allows us to open up more choices and options that can help us take the next leap in our personal and professional growth.

Image provided by ThoughtAction LLC

Happiness is something that most of us strive for, and in fact, feel that we deserve to have. After all, our Declaration of Independence references “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

So what does it mean to pursue happiness? When we think of pursuing something, we usually mean that we’re going after something we don’t already have. In Marci Shimoff’s book, Happy for No Reason, she points out that in Jefferson’s time, “to pursue something meant to practice that activity, to do it regularly, to make a habit of it.” There’s a huge difference between chasing after happiness and practicing happiness. When we chase after happiness, we’re coming from a perspective of lack – we don’t have the thing that we want. But when we practice happiness, we’re active participants in making ourselves even happier.

So how can we practice happiness at work and at home? The first key is to know that you can weather your moods. Like the weather, your moods are always changing. Recognizing and accepting your moods and knowing that they will change is important to “being happiness.”

If you realize this, when you are up, you can fully appreciate the moments of pure pleasure. Instead of being disappointed when your great mood doesn’t last, you know that not only won’t it last, but it is not supposed to, and so, you can appreciate it while it does.

When you are down, you also know that it won’t last, and because of that, you can weather the low. If you are really down, know that your natural balance will soon bring you up. From a very high level perspective, you can now appreciate the downs, for you’ll know that each of life’s experiences are opportunities to appreciate the gifts that life brings us.

So next time you have a great day – or a “bad” one – appreciate it for what it is, know that it won’t last, and know that that perspective will put you well on your way to pursuing happiness.

How often do you find yourself overwhelmed with the “to-dos” on your list? How many of those items actually fall into the category of energy draining activities? Perhaps they are important tasks, activities and projects needed to run your business, yet they involve work that you’re just not good at or interested in, and you don’t really want to do.

Welcome to a common circumstance experienced by entrepreneurs. If this rings true for you, you may believe you have to do everything that needs to be done in your business. This belief may have been born from a variety of circumstances. Perhaps you’re afraid to spend the money to hire someone to help because you’re concerned about whether you can actually afford it. Maybe you believe that, as an entrepreneur, you “should” be able to do it all.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter where the belief came from. Instead, it’s important to acknowledge that doing it all isn’t supporting you in reaching your desired results. To release the feeling of overwhelm and get your focus back on what you do best…Build an Anabolic Team. What exactly do we mean by that?

There are two primary types of energy – anabolic and catabolic. Anabolic energy is building, constructive, positive energy. Catabolic energy, on the other hand, is destructive, negative energy. So, when you think of those activities that drain you and bring about overwhelm, you are experiencing catabolic energy. Conversely, when you are focused on the work, activities and tasks that you love and you feel “in the flow”, you are experiencing anabolic energy.

One of our teachers, Callan Rush, has passed along a quote that states, “If it’s not my genius, it’s not my job”. Well said! If you can install that belief into your thinking, it will support you in following the steps below to create your anabolic team.

Consider the following questions:

1. What do you do well?
2. What could you use more help or support with?
3. Identify the key types of people you would want to team up with.
4. Who exactly are these people?
5. How will you connect with them?
6. What’s the first step you will commit to take to build your anabolic team?

Following these steps will put you on the path of creating a powerful team that allows you to focus on what you do best and love to do. Additionally, as you build your team, you are inviting others to tap into what they do best as well. And, that’s a winning combination.