Three factors that keep people from succeeding faster

Hey, everyone, this is Sean Butner, certified high performance coach, going live today to talk about three factors that are keeping most people from advancing their goals and achieving quicker. So this all came up because it's August, and I was looking at last month, and I was not as productive as I'd want. And maybe you feel the same way, but you, you know, I. The time just got away from me, and, you know, when I'm focusing on my business, there are certain things that I really wanted to have done last month that just didn't happen. And so being the good nerd that I am, I started to reflect and look at what was I spending my time on and what happened. And, you know, I found out that distraction really won last month more than it should have. You know, a little bit of distraction can be good, but when it's impacting your performance, that's when it's a problem. So, honestly, like, okay, so knowing that, I really decided to get clear on what I needed to do this month and the next steps, and that's how I got around that. But it got me thinking that, you know, we're in the middle of the year and this is going to be, you know, towards the end of summer. This is the last sprint before we start getting into all holiday madness. So I wanted to do a video one as a reminder for me how I could probably get caught up this month. But it's something that I think we all deal with as high performers as we're moving forward. So I wanted to compile something for you guys, too. So that's what we got. So the three things, based on what I've seen a lot of my coaching clients really struggle with or students that I teach, it's, you know, not being sure what to do next or not being sure who they are, and so they lack clarity. And that's the first thing that most people struggle with when they kind of get stuck. So really, things you can do that, you know, when we're not sure how to act on our values, when we're not sure on what we're striving for, is when we get stuck. And like I said, from my experience, this is exactly what happened. And so when you spend a lot of energy trying to figure out what to do next, it can be very demotivating when you actually have to go and do it. So what are you clear on in your values? If you're feeling stuck right now in your career or your health or in your relationships, it's, you know, what would the next bold action be? Based on your values or how you want to show up or your best self. You know, a question like that can help you one shift perspective on, oh, I don't know what to do, and help guide you towards the next proper action. The second part of that is, where are you going? So if you think in a year you, you're ten times more successful and you transport yourself back here, what would you coach yourself to do? And this can be a very powerful thing where you're like, oh, I know that I want to have that promotion next year. I want to have this level of my business. I want to have this super awesome relationship with my spouse. And then thinking like, okay, how would I get there? What would I need to do to have that awesome relationship with my spouse? Oh, we'd have to have gone on a date night every week for this next year. And you're like, is that on my calendar? No, it's not on my calendar. Let me put that on the calendar. And you can kind of walk it back that way and have a very dramatic shift in your next year. Another thing to take a look at is what are the short term projects? Like, what is the next project? One, I'm going to focus on for the next month or two, you know, being able to direct focus time towards one project versus a very little bit of focus to 50 will one, help you get momentum and help you carry that through to completion. And two, like, closing loops feels really, really good. So what loops do you need to close or what loop do you need to close and focus on one thing versus a bunch of things, but you can have a bunch of things strung together in the next year to help it make, you know, your productivity be the best so far. So, you know, getting super clear is super important. And it's a lot of the things that I help people when they struggle with and they go into coaching with me. The second thing, though, just as important as lacking clarity, is people just are afraid. You know, we talk about in high performance coaching, there's three basic types of fear that creep up with people. So you know what you need to do, but you're still not doing it. What's holding you back? It's you're afraid of one of these three things. You're afraid that, you know you're gonna go and chase after that dream. So say you're running a marathon and you're gonna say the outcome is not gonna be as awesome as I think. So you're like, I'm gonna put in all this training. I'm gonna do all this stuff, I'm gonna feel awesome. But. But when I cross the finish line and complete that race, it's not going to be super significant or as gratifying as I thought. And this is something a lot of people in a lot of different ways will kind of talk themselves out of action. So you're like, oh, it's not going to be worthwhile to finish, so why would I train now do all that work kind of stuff? And the way you get around that is you focus on what you're going to gain. Like, even if it's not personally significant to cross the finish line. In our marathon example, you're going to get in the best shape of your life. You're probably going to be eating better to help support the race. You're probably going to be more awesome. So focusing on all the things you're going to gain, you're going to gain that accomplishment of pushing your body 26.2 miles and continuously to cross an arbitrary line in some city to, you know, you'll have that accomplishment. And so focusing on kind of the journey and what it's going to do to you along the way can really help the second fear that people get tripped up upon. If it's not outcome, it's process. So in the marathon example, that is, the training is going to be hard. It's going to be long hours. I'm going to struggle. I can't run more than 15 minutes right now, and I'm going to train to go 26.2 miles. You're crazy, right? And that type of fear, that the fear of actually doing the thing is going to be painful, prevents a lot of people. So, you know, again, reminding yourself why it's worthwhile, like, maybe it is going to hurt, but. But you're also going to have those health benefits that we talked about before, or you're going to build a close relationship with a cool friend and buddy that you have because you're going to be spending so much time with them, or it's going to prevent you from, you know, doing it, you know, too hard. When you go out with your friends for drinks, you're going to like, one beer, and then you're totally good because you got to get up early in the morning to go run, you know? You know, this is something that I found when I trained for a marathon. So I'm speaking from a little bit of experience, but, yeah, not focusing on the pain and the struggle and the commitment of what you're going to do and just focusing on what it's going to do for your life and what you're really going to get out of it is going to help you too. So if you have outcome fear that, you know it's not going to be as awesome or the grass is not going to be as green on the other side, once you do this thing and you're screwing up or not screwing up, you're being prevented by the process or you're dreading the pain of actually doing it. The third thing that prevents people from acting and helps people lose motivation is the fear that you're going to lose something or loss fear. And that is simply the opportunity cost. If I again, training for a marathon and it's going to take me, you know, 40 hours a week of running, that's going to be time I'm not spending with my family. It's going to be time I'm not working. It's going to be time that I'm not enjoying my favorite cocktail at my favorite bar, you know, or whatever it is, you can come up with a huge list of things that you're going to lose, you know, and if you talk about diet, you know, a lot of times when you're like, I'm going to go watch what I'm eating, you know, so I'm not going to be able to enjoy steaks and pizza and all the things that I really love to eat, like salads. And I don't love salads, so I don't want to give up the food for the salads. And totally understandable. But, you know, thinking about, again, the whole theme of addressing fear is focusing on what you gain, the confidence and knowing that you can achieve it. Because we're tougher than we think. So, yeah, you know, focus on, you're going to gain a new appreciation for vegetables. You're going to gain health. Again, the same theory with our theme with the marathon training, you know, that will totally help you. So the first thing we talked about was clarity and how people don't have clarity, it prevents them from achieving. Second is fear. You know what to do, but then you're afraid to go do it, so you don't do it. But if you know what you need to do and you're very, very ready to step in and be courageous with it. The third thing people deal with is exhaustion. You're just so wiped that you can't muster the energy to go out and do what you gotta do. So this would be like in the marathon example again. So, you know, you know, you have to run four Miles, today, you know that it's gonna hurt, but you can survive it. And you know, it's helping you, you know, achieve something mighty and great. So you love that sense of accomplishment. But you didn't sleep well last night and you've been eating pretty terribly and you don't drink any water, so you're just completely exhausted. You put on your shorts and you're winded, you know, so what do you do? And this is just a lack of discipline or consistency in generating energy in your life. And you know, we talk a lot about this in high performance coaching because if you feel tired and if you don't feel great, it is the biggest sapper of energy and motivation. So how do you ensure that you have the energy you need to serve your team to chase that marathon dream? I didn't mean to make that rhyme, but that's funny to me. So what are you gonna do? Well, first off, make sure you're getting seven hours of sleep. There's a quick checklist. Does your sleep good? Are you eating well? Are you stretching and moving properly? And then nutrition, which is, I guess, eating well. So three main areas. So are you sleeping at least seven hours a night? When you do sleep, is it continuous and awesome sleep, or are you tossing and turning and not getting a solid seven hours? That would be the first thing to look at. And if you need some, some help with that, I think Arianna Huffington has a book called the Sleep Revolution. There's tons of stuff online. I think one of the biggest things in my sleep game, if you could call it that, that has really helped me, was the chili cube chili pad, chili cube. And all it does is pump like heated or cool water in between your mattress and your sheet where you're sleeping. And you can control the temperature. And so keeping it cool is, you know, I think a lot of the Science is like 68 degrees is like the sweet spot, but it's different for everyone. But it's super awesome, super game changing. And I'm not affiliated with that company at all, but I absolutely love them. So check it out. So check your sleep. Check your hydration. Just drink more water than you think. Like, I try to do three to six of these things a day, depending on how heavy I worked out that day. Of course, electrolytes and all that stuff, stay away from Gatorade because it's a bunch of sugar. Not really good for the health. But thinking about things like that could be really, really important. And most people in the us, I guess I read the statistics somewhere. So don't quote me on it, but mistake hunger and exhaustion for dehydration. So sometimes just a little extra water can go a really long way. So I suggest that to help boost your energy. And the third thing is nutrition. So you know, talk to your doctor about, you know, supplements. You know most people are vitamin D deficient, B12 deficient. So those two supplements tend to go a long way. But talk to your medical professional or your dietitian or whoever can really help it because it's different for every person. So definitely check that out and then just try to eat things that aren't processed like made in a factory, come in a bag, a pre sealed bag. So like vegetables, you know, do the bulk foods at the store. That kind of stuff can be super, super healthy and you'd never realize it but the fuel you put in your body determines your energy. Common sense, but something that you know, if you're not thinking about it, you might not realize that could go a long way to helping you have energy. So when you're clear, when you're courageous and when you're energized, that's when motivation happens and you can get things done. I hope this video served you. I just wanted to let you guys know I am taking on new coaching clients. So if you liked this video and some of the things we talked about it and want to go deeper into your life, go to Sean Coach and you'll have a online form you can fill out that'll help walk you through some high performance stuff. And then we get on a free one hour call where we deep dive into your life. So I would love to do that for you. Hit www.sean s h a w n dot coach and fill out the application. Would love to serve you guys. So hope you enjoyed this video and I'll see you guys next week. Take care.