perfection – Alphadog Success

Perfectionism is Really Just Procrastination

Let’s explore how perfectionism is really just another form of procrastination. If you continue finding yourself locked into being a perfectionist, it will waste a lot of your time and energy. At a certain extent, the more energy you put into making something perfect, the less real productivity you’ll experience. Everyone has some measure of perfectionism within them. We set our own high goals and then push ourselves to achieve them. We have high personal standards and integrity, and that always makes us want to do our best. This dedication to perfection helps us get the results we want and enjoy the success that comes with achieving our goals. But perfectionism, in an extreme sense, has more negative repercussions than positive results. Some examples of how perfectionism aids procrastination: Math shows perfectionism can turn into procrastination. A bell curve is commonly divided into standard deviations. There are 3+ standard deviations in each curve, where each standard deviation takes the same amount of time/energy to accomplish. So, in order to reach 70% it’s 1 standard deviation, from 70% up to 95% is the 2nd standard deviation; and the 3rd only brings you brings you from 95% to 99.7%. With that knowledge, we can see that it will take us the exact same amount of time to get 3 products/offers to 70% completion, as it will to bring 1 product to 99.7% completion. Nothing will ever actually reach 100% complete. There will always be something you can do differently. This is why many large companies, like Microsoft or Apple, have been shown launching products at that 70% point, and then making additional refinements and updates as they learn of different bugs or issues. I’m sure you can see why they may take this strategy! Now, surprisingly, we’re not saying that you should stop being a perfectionist. But you should, however, be aware of when your perfectionist tendencies go overboard. Keep tabs on yourself so you can be honest when you are instead procrastinating by using the excuse of wanting to make something perfect. Always keep a balance between perfection and productivity, and procrastination will become a thing of the past! This starts by increasing your awareness and empowering your mind. This free course is a great place to start. You may also enjoy this blog post on the power of focus.

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You are NOT perfect...Just the way you are

You Are Not Perfect the Way You Are

There are more than enough songs telling us we’re perfect just the way we are. There are also many self-help books telling us that there’s really nothing to change. Lastly, we’ll find no shortage of motivational speakers or “coaches” who tell us, “You are perfect just as you are.” But, we need to set all that aside. In fact, if I wasn’t being polite I would call them lies because that’s what they are. They are actually doing you a disservice because the more you believe in that, the more you wall yourself off from meaningful change in your life. I’ve got some news for you. The only constant in life is change. That’s the only thing you can rely on occurring regardless of your actions beliefs or choices. It’s true right now and it will continue to be true long into the future. It’s a good thing change is the only constant in life because, with change, we can continue to grow and improve. Change is actually a promise for better. It doesn’t matter how small you feel, how defeated you think you are, or how incompetent, ugly, and desperate things may seem to you. With change, you can turn things around to create a situation you are happy, proud, and confident about. Life would be so boring without change! I once met a homeless man on the streets of Worcester, MA while I was the broker for an apartment rental agency and he said something that really blew my mind. He would come in for a cup of coffee or to use the restroom when the office was quiet. Occasionally, I would buy him or others lunch. Those conversations gave me an enlightening new perspective. He was a guy who just had newspapers as his bed and lived a block or two away from my office. He used to say, “This too will pass.” I looked at him. I looked at the situation and looked at how desperate things seemed for him. It didn’t take long for my analytical mind and questioning ways to arrive at the same conclusion. This too will pass… There I was wearing an impeccable shirt, a nice silk tie, and yes, I was incredibly connected to that homeless person. This was the truth that connects all of us. What we think our reality is will always pass because of time and change. Instead of looking at life as something that’s scary, or something we have to run away from, it’s there for us to learn to work with. Easier said than done though, right? How do we just change our perspective like that? What’s the best way to make a change?How do we make the deep and profound reality of change work for us instead of against us? Well, it all boils down to perspective and expectations. Choose your thoughts carefully because when you assume that you’re perfect you cannot deny that change always happens. Change is kind of like a fire. We can’t intimidate it or deny it’s existence. It will continue raging. burning. and marching forward. It doesn’t care if you acknowledge it or not. Sadly, when you think you’re perfect the way you are, you end up getting burned by change. This doesn’t just happen once. It will happen again and again and again until you learn that lesson. What lesson am I talking about? First, if you are assuming you’re perfect it means you’re less likely to want to learn or grow or adapt. I don’t care how smart you are. I don’t care how well you have it together. You need to keep updating your knowledge, skills, perspective and awareness. Otherwise, you will get left behind. Living in the Internet Age is both a blessing and a curse. Information is more readily available, but it also spoils quickly…Take the case of sales and sales training. You may have been at the top of the sales game ten years ago. But sales strategies from 10 years ago will only get you reported or ignored by people today. Unfortunately, if you think you’re perfect, you already know everything. It prevents you from learning what you need to learn to level-up. Assuming you’re perfect also means you’re less likely to want to adapt. Think of it like dodge ball. The world is chaotic and throws many dodge balls at us. We need to move, we need to be quick on our feet. But, to assume that you’re perfect means that you’re just going to stand still and get hit with one ball after another. Soon enough, you’re bruised all over the place and you are lying flat on your back, exhausted, rundown, and feeling stuck. It’s not a happy ending. Assuming you’re perfect also means you’re likely to blame others instead of taking any responsibility yourself. “They’re imperfect. It’s not my problem. I’m perfect.” Do you see the backwards logic of that? It’s sad on so many levels. Most of all, it’s sad because when you blame other people, you give them power over your happiness, your success, and your life. How so? Well, if they’re the one who caused the problem, typically this means they are also the only one with the solution. It’s time for a reality check! It can be hard enough controlling oneself. Can you imagine trying to control other people too? Forget about it. If Bruce Almighty taught me anything – it’s that you can’t influence free will, no matter how powerful you think you are. Life can be rough. It’s chaotic out there. But, the good news is that despite all this imperfection, there is beauty. There are sublime truths. There is profound peace and prosperity to attain, but you may need struggle for it. You should uncover it. You should work for it. You’re not perfect, none of us are. Life isn’t about being perfect – it’s about being real. By accepting your imperfections and never failing to adapt, learn, or grow…you’re setting

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Drop The Past: It Doesn’t Deserve Time In Your Future

Your past doesn’t define you. I can’t even tell you how many people I come across who say, “I’m a failure”. “I don’t have it”. “This suck”. Life sucks. The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Every single year, I get poor. I’m stuck. These people are not low IQ individuals, per se. They’re not ugly. There’s nothing in their personality that makes them inferior. It’s their attitude that dooms them to a life of mediocrity, struggle, and frustration. If you’re reading this article, chances are you’ve felt these things. Maybe you’re feeling that your life follows a pattern where one day is basically the same as the day before it. Like Groundhog Day with Bill Murray (great movie by the way). There’s really not much change in your life. Before you know it, you feel that you’re stuck in a rut that you call life – and there’s no escaping. It’s as if the script keeps playing over and over. It’s the same boring old movie again and again. Same movie, different day. All arriving at the same the conclusion – death. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I know it sounds kind of extreme, and depressing. It’s definitely discouraging. But, I want you to understand where that mindset leads to. And this definitely doesn’t lead us to a happy place. If there was any doubt before, now you have the answer. People who screw up in the past think it seals the rest of their life. Your past doesn’t define you. This world would be a vastly different place if that were the case. No matter how bad you screwed up in the past, it doesn’t have to hold you back unless you let it. When you keep repeating scenes in your head of being rejected, humiliated, embarrassed, betrayed or oppressed. Your subconscious will attempt to bring that into existence. Plus you are feeling all of the emotions as if you were living through it live. Finally this causes you to vibrate at a lower frequency, attracting more of the same. What do you think happens when you repeat this behavior? Your past doesn’t define you. Do you think you can change the material fact of what happened in the past? No. It’s not like the movie Back to the Future and you’ve got a flying DeLorean that you can jump into with Marty McFly. It doesn’t work that way. What happened in the past happened. What you can change is your interpretation. Your past doesn’t define you. You can change its effect on you in the here and now. Claim your power. This is key to external change, which is affecting what is happening for you right now, your appearance, your work, your business, the amount of money in your bank account, or how big your house or apartment is. All across the board is an internal change. Change your relationship with your past and you can change your future. Does your past condemn you? Does it make you feel small, weak, and powerless? Well, you can change how you interpret your past. Internal changes mean changing your thought patterns, assumptions, beliefs, and emotional habits. It’s perfectly true that the world doesn’t care about your feelings, it cares about your actions. It aims at results. Where do you think those results come from? It comes from your thoughts. When you think about your situation in a certain way; you end up in an empowered emotional state. In that new emotional state, you ask smarter questions and make corresponding decisions. When you make those decisions, you change your present and future with your actions. What if you can change your thoughts? What if you can change your assumptions about your past? Your life doesn’t have to feel like a runaway roller coaster where the moment you think about something negative, everything has to end up with a negative implication again and again and again. It doesn’t have to be that way. Please understand that you are always in control because you can always choose how you interpret things. You can always choose what you think about. You can always choose what you do or do not dwell on. Do not let go of that power. That would be the height of irresponsibility and I hate to say this because when I first realized this, it was when somebody said it, and it stung a little bit. That was precisely the point things changed though because at that point I grew. Whatever is happening in your life, you’re doing to yourself. You really are. I know it doesn’t make much sense. Who wants to intentionally live a frustrated or unfulfilled life? Who wants to feel this pain? Take responsibility. You can do it. Change creates change. Your past doesn’t define you. Reacting the same way to past situations will only keep you bound to the lesson and stuck in the same karmic loop. When you are presented with the same situations over and over, you have to do something different. You are being presented with two choices, evolve or repeat. ~Wishing you success!

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