Mind over Matter

Turn the obstacles between you and your goal into a practical list of problems to solve.

You set a goal. Almost immediately, you see everything standing between you and it.

You don't know how. You don't have a finished plan. You haven't done it before. Your first attempt might not work.

What if that list wasn't a reason to stop? What if it was the beginning of your work?

In this episode, mind over matter means using your thinking to engage with the obstacles in front of you. Your mind helps you choose how to approach the work that creates a result.

Focus your effort on one meaningful result

You can have many things you want and still make little progress if you spread your attention across all of them at once.

Choose one significant result to focus on. Make it specific enough that you will recognize it when it happens. Finishing a book draft is clearer than becoming more creative. Reaching a defined business milestone is clearer than doing better.

Choosing one focus gives your thinking a direction. Instead of continually deciding which goal deserves your attention, you can ask what this goal needs from you today.

Remember your reason for choosing it. That reason supports the commitment you will need when obstacles appear.

Use obstacles as your to-do list

Picture the steps toward your goal as rungs on a ladder. Each difficulty identifies something to learn, solve, or practice.

If you want to write a book and don't have a writing routine, establishing that routine becomes part of your work. If you don't know how to structure the chapters, learning and testing a structure becomes another step.

The obstacle doesn't disappear because you think positively. You use your thinking to work on it.

Write each obstacle as a practical question. Instead of “I don't know how,” ask what you need to learn first. Instead of “I keep avoiding this,” ask which thought and feeling are driving the avoidance.

You now have more useful information than a general conclusion that the goal is too hard.

Ask for the next best action

You may not know the entire path. You can still identify a next action.

What can you change? What can you do? What would help you learn more? What is the next best action from here?

Those questions direct your attention toward movement. Repeating that you are confused may direct it toward stopping.

You can also imagine looking back from a completed goal. What might you have done to get there? Use the exercise to generate possibilities you can test, rather than waiting for certainty before beginning.

Create thoughts that put you to work

The Self-Coaching Model connects your thoughts to your feelings, your feelings to your actions, and your actions to your results.

“This obstacle proves I can't do it” can create discouragement. You stop attempting the task. The result is no further progress.

“This is a problem I can work on” can create determination. You research, practice, ask a question, or test a different approach.

The external task may be the same. Your relationship to it changes when you choose a thought that supports useful action.

Try thoughts you can believe. You don't have to promise yourself a perfect outcome. You can decide you are capable of learning something and taking the next step.

Let action reveal what needs attention

You can feel confident while thinking about a goal and discover doubt as soon as you start doing it. That isn't a reason to stop.

Action reveals both practical gaps and thoughts you hadn't noticed. The first draft shows you what needs revision. The first conversation reveals what you are afraid someone might think.

Work gives you information. Avoiding the work to avoid mistakes also means avoiding some of the learning you need.

Be willing to create a version that can be improved. Excellence can involve continued refinement. Perfectionism can leave you with nothing completed to refine.

Practice resilience through problem solving

Choose your goal, list the obstacles, and identify a next action for each one. Then notice how you are thinking about the process.

Are you spending your effort explaining why the obstacles shouldn't exist? Or are you using that effort to learn how to handle them?

When an attempt doesn't work, ask what it teaches you. Adjust the action. Keep your attention on the result and the skill you are developing along the way.

A goal gives you a place to practice courage, creativity, patience, and follow-through. Each problem you engage with becomes an opportunity to develop those qualities through actual work.