My daughter is learning to play the piano. This week her teacher asked her to play a song and covered her hands with a sheet of paper so she couldn’t look down at her hands.
She was super uncomfortable at first, but she played the song faster and more accurate when she did not look at her fingers. It felt strange, but when she relied on her muscle memory and trusted what she knew, it worked so much better.
It literally blew her mind that she could play the song and not look at her hands.
It made me think, what areas are we looking at our hands when we should focus on muscle memory and trusting what we know.
Most of the time we are so worried about getting all the steps in our project identified and perfectly prioritized that we don’t trust what we know and start moving forward as quickly as we could.
To trust what you know and move forward without all the stress and anxiety, follow these 3 simple steps:
- Clearly define what you are trying to accomplish.
- STOP thinking about the unknowns or things you are not confident in.
- START trusting what you do know and focus on the ONE next thing to figure out . Do that thing and then focus on the next ONE thing.
Maybe you need to write a doc and present it in a few weeks. STOP thinking about how hard it’s going to be to write. START creating the basic outline all docs follow and focusing on getting metrics to drive the insights and suggestions.
Maybe you’re to-do list is a mile long and growing. STOP thinking about how long the list is. START thinking about the one thing that needs to be done next.
Or maybe your manager is dragging their feet creating a plan for your promotion. STOP thinking about where your manager is lacking. START focusing on how else you could get clarity around a path to promotion.
The next time you find yourself annoyed, stressed, or anxious, ask yourself what part you could stop paying attention to and start focusing on the one next step to get you moving forward.
Chat soon,
LB
P.S. Want help learning how to feel better and stop dreading work? I offer a limited number of free coaching sessions so let’s jump on the phone and get you there. Sign up HERE
