Doing too much is the surest way to accomplish little. We only have so much capacity in our busy lives as working women. A vision board helps to cut out some of that “extra”. That means saying no and finding your focus. In this post, I’ll be connecting your vision with saying no and providing three essential steps to find your success.
The whirlwind of too many choices and not enough time
One of the biggest hindrances to success today is having too many options, too many choices. It’s like a restaurant with a 20-page menu. Just the time it takes to review all the choices is fatiguing and makes picking dinner nearly impossible.
This is especially true for those who have had young kids. It only takes one morning of offering 10 choices of clothing, or 5 different kinds of cereal, to know that the more choices you present to a toddler, the greater the odds that no one will get out of the house on time.
Our brains are wired to want to do everything. We want to binge all of Netflix, attend our kids events, learn Spanish, exercise, and have a girl’s night out.
There is never a lack of opportunity for what we can do or where we spend our time. Couple that with what I refer to as the “Wonder Woman” syndrome, where many women feel they have to be “great” at everything, and we end up with women who are feeling guilty, tired, overwhelmed, and far from successful.
Let’s change that.
Vision boards and cutting the noise
Reduce the noise, in order to thrive. The start of any woman’s success is understanding that she can’t do everything and the sooner she reduces her activities the more chance she has to thrive.
There is a key step in the Vision Board exercise that demonstrates this well. When I lead the workshop using Lemon Crushers Vision Board Kit, I have the women consider all the images provided and then force them to make two piles.
- One pile with images of goals or tasks they want to work on in their life
- One pile of images of things they are going to say “no” to.
Then I walk around the room with a garbage can and I have the women toss the “no’ pile into the trash. Oh the challenge of this simple step. Women will hang on to images and lament at the choices they need to make. Some even run after and pull images out of the trash.
The key point here is no one can do it all. Doing too much is the surest way to accomplish little, yet the appeal to accomplish all, draw us in.
Laser focus leads to success
The key to success is to be laser-focused on your goals. Focus on what you want to achieve. As difficult as it may be, allow the alternatives to fall by the wayside.
I heard a speaker once say that if one person had the idea to create Amazon and Facebook and Google and attempted to pursue and build each company, that person would have achieved nothing.
A perfect example of how a focused vision made dreams come true
I am reminded by Lorena’s inspiring story in Lemon Crushers: A Working Woman’s Guide to Overcoming Adversity case study. Her story illuminates that with focus, great things can be accomplished.
At age 40, with a 3 year old and a 3 month old, Lorena was a homeless, single mom. Her focus suddenly became crystal clear. In order for her to provide for her and the girls, she had to turn her life around. In less than 5 years Lorena went from homeless and unemployed to completing her college degree, securing a well-paying job and purchasing her first home. She accomplished more between the ages of 40 to 45 then she had from age 20 to 40. Focus and desire was the fuel for her success and that can be the motivation for you as well.
3 Ideas that should be Incorporated into your Vision Board
When you create your vision board, whatever that may look like for you, it’s important to include the things that will lead to success.
1. Focus on What You Really Want to Achieve
Target on what is important to you. One of the best ways to do that is to use the Lemon Crushers Vision Board Kit. Take the time to narrow your choices down to what you WANT to accomplish and allow alternatives to go by the wayside.
2. Find Complementary Goals
If you feel pulled in several directions, work to find goals that can accomplish two things at once.
I was having a conversation with a woman this week who talked about stepping away from boards that were taking her away from her family and replacing those volunteer positions through serving with organizations that her daughters already participate in. This way she is aligned with her family and can spend as much time with her daughters as possible. In the future, once her daughters are grown, there will be an opportunity to go back to other pursuits.
3. Don’t Try and be Wonder Woman
In Lemon Crushers I divide a woman’s life responsibilities into 5 categories:
- health
- finances
- relationships
- career and;
- circumstances
If any woman attempts to build each of these areas simultaneously, she will implode. No one has that much capacity. It is better to hyper-focus on one area to bring it to a level of success then attempt to accomplish many.
One last note before building your hyper-focused vision board
Consider some of the most successful people in life; athletes, musicians, business owners. Each of them achieved their success through being hyper-focused. If you truly want to follow and achieve your dreams, you will need to set aside alternative options. I’m not saying it is easy, but it will be worth it.
For more on helping working women make Lemonade out of Lemons you would love Pearl’s book Lemon Crushers; A Working Woman’s Guide to Overcoming Adversity!
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