Tony Suriano talks through losing momentum on his book when new responsibilities took over. He shares three moves: inject small joys into boring tasks, protect your main thing even if it's not first, and choose self-care over grinding. The point is you can stay consistent on what matters without burning out.
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Okay, welcome in. I'm Tony Suriano. I am the host that thought he was recording this episode and then he wasn't. My wife says this intro sounds like a conspiracy mystery, so I'll stop that voice and tell you this show is for you to get you on the track you want for your life. I'm going to share encouraging educational content, hopefully entertaining, that will help you direct your life. Welcome to the show. Welcome in. I'm doing this episode again just for you because it's a powerful one. I care a lot about this content and I hope it can help you out. Today our topic is prioritization and how to stay on top of the thing that matters, because the thing is the most important thing. Have you ever been so excited to work on your big meaningful project But then you just couldn't prioritize it? I feel like everyone has been there, and that was me the last couple weeks. I found myself in this position where I had to either step up or be stepped on, and stepping up meant new responsibilities, new people, a new routine, which meant less time, less energy for the one thing I've been trying to finalize. What? My book, Direct Your Life or Someone Else Will. If you're interested in being notified when it releases, please go to tonysuriano.com/directyourlife, sign up, and you'll get notified. This threw me off. I was waking up earlier than usual, going to sleep earlier than I like. I'm somewhat of a night owl. And this threw me off. Full days gone. Days where I couldn't touch my creative work. And I started to feel like a wolf in a pet store. I'm a little bit wild. I'm misplaced, out of rhythm, and being thrown in a pet store, it was a little difficult. Like my natural behavior was freaking everyone out. So I had to shapeshift. Have you ever seen an octopus or a cuttlefish? They can blend in so well with their environment, it is amazing. And I actually will be studying them more because they are so fascinating. And I didn't want to just get through the day by blending in and not being myself, but I had to do some blending in. I had to handle my new responsibilities. I had to learn the system, play the part. But you know what I reminded myself of? That this is all temporary. And that's what you need to think about when you have something going on in your life where you have to reprioritize, or something that you just, you don't want to be taken care of, but you have to. That's just, it's a responsibility. It is temporary. The people, temporary tasks, temporary discomfort. But it's all for a reason. It all can be for a reason. Let me rephrase that, because if you find a reason that can empower you and your future and you create a compelling reason, then you'll be more in flow. You'll feel better and you'll be able to flow smoother. But if you don't, you'll get dragged in the mud. And then you'll get hit in the face with the FUD— the fear, uncertainty, and doubt. That's the truth, because sometimes we get pulled into things that we think are not serving us. Oh, this is bad. Why me? Why is this happening? Why do I have to do this? But if you give it a good compelling reason, then you'll see it differently. You'll experience it differently. And today I want to share 3 things that helped me. Maybe it'll help you. First one, mitigate the mundane. Mitigate the mundane. Mitigate just means to make something, the task, whatever you're doing, a little bit better, a little smoother by adding in something or just shifting something around. So I gave myself some small mitigation wins throughout the day. I was able to listen to certain music— not certain music, energizing music. I had some good delicious snacks with me while I was doing this full-day event several times during this last couple weeks. And sometimes I was able to focus on an audiobook while I was doing some of the other stuff. These things seem a little small, like, oh yeah, we always listen to music when we do stuff we don't want to do, but really If you pay attention, it will pull you out of the fog, and they do add little bits of joy, and that's why it mitigates it. What can you mitigate? Think about that thing in your life you need to just get through with a little more joy and a little less pity, a little less annoyance. Number two. Protect the main thing, even if it's not first. So if you have something important in your life, don't forget about it. In fact, journal on it and remind yourself, hey, right now I can't prioritize this, but I'm not forgetting you. Because if you don't, it will drift away. And my book is now in position number 2. During this time, but I didn't let it get me down. I didn't let myself fall off board. I stayed consistent even if the progress was smaller than I wanted. I kept my promise to myself, which is number one, because if you break them, your confidence starts dwindling, and then you're less likely to do the thing that you know you want to do in the beginning, and then your heart is not in alignment and just things suck. So So make sure you're not only mitigating, then you come back to this thing that's important to you. Even if it's not the main priority, it's still the main thing. And you just make consistency with that. Even if it's 10 minutes a day, doesn't matter. Consistency trumps everything else. Keep the promise to yourself, keep it going. Number three, self-love over self-hustle. This was hard for me a lot of my life. Now I'm getting pretty good at it. A lot of people fail here because they act like they're bulletproof and they wait until they're wounded to start the healing, and that's why they burn out. And I didn't do that. I feel good. I've been taking a lot of salt baths. More than usual. I had allowed myself to slow down because I noticed my head was a little woozy here and there with a lot of this extra stuff going on. So I was saying to myself, you know, just lounge around a little bit in between. No judgment. Don't get mad at yourself. Just do it. Relax. And good thing I did, because your immune system's affected when you have new stuff going on. And that's how you burn out when you don't give yourself that in-between space. And guess what? If you get sick, it pushes you further from the thing, and then you have less time, and it just throws you back. You don't want that. So find a way to love yourself more, to fill your cup, and allow yourself to just Slow down when you need it without judgment, just a little bit of grace for yourself. Take care of your body, take care of your nervous system while you push and in between. If you're listening right now and you feel pulled between your purpose and your obligations, here's another thing. You are not Alone. For so many years, I used to feel alone and then think no one understands. Oh man, I'm going through this by myself. And that's not the case. It's good news. And it doesn't mean misery wants company, not that thing. It just means that others have gone through things you're going through and they made it through. And so can you, with mitigation, with consistency, with self-love. Those are the three ideas I have today for you. I hope they helped. I hope they're interesting. Let me know. Share in the comments. Share this episode with someone that needs to hear it. And remember, there's a difference between being bitter about what you got going on and being better. And I know you're here to be better. I know that's one of our purposes—to just be a better human being. So don't mope your way through it. Don't complain at the clerk in line. Instead, give them a smile, give them joy. You have a light shining on them, and don't feel like they need to smile back. Just push yourself to smile upon them because that's unconditionally giving, unconditionally loving, and that's where the real energy comes so you don't burn out. Okay, director's challenge for you. This week. Ask yourself, how can I enjoy the push more? First question. Another one, how can I stay consistent with my main thing even if it's only 10 to 15 minutes? What do I need to do to make sure that happens and I don't break the promise to myself? How can I make the mundane moments more meaningful? Music, healthy food, conversations, anything. Take a walk without your phone. Take a digital break. Give yourself the break you know you need and just experience. Look around. Take a breath. Bring in the breath. Hold it. Release twice as long as the inhale. That will signal your brain To just have a little more peace. Try it, do it, don't deny it. And finally, how can I take care of my body while I work my plan? How can I take care of my body while I work my plan? Be good to yourself. Do something good for your well-being. That's your challenge. Don't wait for life to get easier. Make it more enjoyable. And live in the moment. And remember, if you don't direct your life, someone else will. So get out there and do what you gotta do and give yourself that grace. So that's it for this episode. If you loved it, don't forget, please rate and review the show, leave a comment, and share this episode. Thank you once again for tuning in. Now get out there, direct your life.
