Removing the blinkers

Firstly allow me apologise for the time that has elapsed since my last blog. A few weeks agp I made a conscious decision on the direction that I want my life to start moving in and as a result it has set off a chain reaction that has kept me busy - things are still a little unclear but these are certainly exciting times!

Anyway...lets get back on topic.

    

I just returned from Melbourne. A wonderful city. During my time there I was fortunate enough to attend the Melbourne cup; the race that truly does stops the nation. During the day I had a light bulb moment. As I watched the horses go around I noticed that some of them were wearing what is termed in the racing world as ‘blinkers’. I have seen these thousands of times before but something about the day (maybe it was the champagne) allowed me to make a new distinction.

Now for those who have not had much exposure to the world of horse racing blinkers are placed on some horses in an attempt to limit their peripheral vision and allow them to race better. These blinkers sit on the head of the horse and cover a part of the eyes so that the horse can see forward but not be distracted by what is going on around them and remain focused on the task at hand. Have you already started to become aware of how this may apply to you?

     

There is no disputing the power of focus. Throughout history people have achieved wonderful and miraculous things through sheer determination - remaining focused and not taking no for an answer. The key is when to use this focus and when to take the blinkers off. Our mind tends to pick one option and naturally becoming focused and gravitating towards it as if the other options were never there to begin with. To give you an example of this think of something that you want but that you think that you cannot have - you got it? It may be something that you perceive as difficult to achieve or something that will take a while to get to the final destination. Now what just happened? It is likely that you mind began to focus on all of the reasons that you can’t have it, all of the challenges that you would encounter and potentially some of your personal inadequacies.

     

Did your mind stop to think of all of the resources that you already have to achieve this goal? Or all of the reasons you deserve it? Or all of the steps that you could take to achieve the outcome? A small percentage of people may have answered yes but for the majority we will only focus on the reasons that we don’t have it. From this exercise you may have become aware that you are wearing blinkers in certain areas of your life - and until now you weren’t even aware that they were there!

    

Now that we are aware of these ‘blinkers’ what do we do? The answer is surprisingly simple - ask more useful questions! By asking more effective questions you can open your mind to opportunities and ways of thinking that you have not previously considered. Just four simple questions can help you to remove the blinkers in certain areas of your life and provide you with more choice. The way that I have worded them is as follows - on the left hand side is the question you ask for taking a particular action and on the right is for the goal itself -  you can modify them to suit your situation. Here they are:

1. What would happen if you did / What would happen if you achieve this goal?
2. What would happen if you didn’t / What would happening if you didn’t achieve this goal?
3. What wouldn’t happen if you did / What wouldn’t happen if you achieve this goal?
4. What wouldn’t happen if you didn’t / What wouldn’t happen if you didn’t achieve this goal?

    

These questions seem remarkably simple and very similar to one another but I assure you that they are very powerful! The similarities between them ensure that you stay on topic whilst the minor changes between each one will open your mind and provide you with a more comprehensive understanding of what there is to gain by taking the action. They will also allow you to see the effect that these blinkers have on your life and the lives of those around you as the result of not taking the actions you desire and not living the life you were born to enjoy.  When you do these questions list everything down - from the tiniest and seemingly most insignificant things through to the effect that it will have on your self worth, your family, community and the world. For example if you have kids what would happen if you didn’t take the step in question? Perhaps your children would not get to experience you as a happy and passionate person or perhaps they won’t get to see that it is truly possible to follow your dreams! It will depend on your personal situations but it is powerful stuff.

    

As I mentioned earlier focus is extremely important - the idea of this exercise is to open you up to all of the opportunities that are available to you - to take the blinkers off and see what choices you have rather then slipping into what you have always done and living a life out of fear or habit. Once you see the different roads that lie ahead - chose one that suits and then if you like put the blinkers back on and follow that road, periodically taking them off to make sure that your options haven’t changed and more exciting opportunity hasn’t arisen.

Try this out for the next couple of days. You will start to become aware of all of the areas in your life when your have limited vision or awareness. Apply these questions and watch your world expand. If you start you may even find you are not able to stop using them...

To ensure that you receive all of the latest postings visit my Facebook page and click on the ‘Like’ button. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Honey-I-Shrunk-the-Vids/256234771090470

Until we meet again

Dan.