Going after it. Success. Whether a career or a triathlon or being truly in love with someone, making money or finding our life calling, what is the mistake so many are making to miss out on feeling ultimate success, peace, joy, contentment?

Too much “busy” in our heads? Is it lack of ability to keep our heads in the present and not out somewhere in the future?

Success is so sought after that what is going on in our heads is blocking the view that we are already in the midst of success. The idea that we already have everything we need to be happy, healthy and content is not one we practice.

Instead we spend our time talking in our own minds about shoulda, coulda, woulda. We occupy the space in our heads with busy-ness, not with really embracing all that we have right now.

What we think about, we create. Which do you want, busy-ness or to actually enjoy what you are doing right now? It is a choice.

The habit of staying really super busy trying to be better, have more, be faster, or not be so stressed about making more money is completely stopping us from actually noticing all the cool things that are going on right now. Today. All that we already have.

Staying super busy doesn’t allow us the time to actually create more of what we really want.  Things like a rested mind, a peaceful body, health, good friends, family, manifesting enough money, they all escape us when we are too busy in our own heads.

The Habit of Notice

I moved to Hawaii a little over a year ago. The idea was to slow down. Live. Enjoy. Play. While at the same time I do my own thing, I work for myself.

Working for yourself has it’s challenges. One of the biggest is balance. Time. Not going overboard with it. Especially when one has been known to do 9 Ironmans in 3 years….  if you are one of those types, always going after it… you are like me and you NEED to start focusing on balance! Or true happiness could escape you even though it’s right there for you to grasp, to hold, to have right now.

I realized I had to let go and start noticing what was around me. Focus on all that I already had so that I didn’t start spending all of my time trying to get something more, something that brought me closer to some undefined sense of success. A sense of success based on what other people might be thinking rather than what is important to me.

So I started NOTICING.

So many way cool things happen to us every single day. Yet somehow we have trained ourselves to focus on all the things we don’t have done, or the workouts we should do, or making more money, or going faster at the next race… whatever your gig is.

The focus in our mind is out there on more, or different or something other than we have right now. The truth of the matter is most of us do not even know that we are thinking these things until we slow down and take the time to notice.

How to Start Noticing and Stop Being Too Busy

  • Carry a journal with you.
  • Notice what you are thinking about.
  • Write it down.
  • Make sure you do it several times a day.
  • Set a reminder for every hour to write down what you are thinking.

You’ll probably be quite surprised to find out that though you think you are being a positive person, you have thrown a negative thought or judgement to most things about yourself or someone the majority of the time.

No wonder that is what we get more of. Negative thoughts. Busy thoughts of getting to a better, more joyful place than we are right now. But not being good with what we are doing, or have or feel right now.

Start noticing the patterns in what you write down.  By physically writing these thoughts down you actually have to define what is going on in your head.

Start ReVIBE –

Take what you’ve got and turn it into more of what you want minus the busy negative energy.

Start prompting yourself to write something down that:

  • Gave you a quick smile
  • Stirred emotion of “I like that”
  • Step way out there move yourself forward and write down why you like being you, just the way you are.
  • Write down what your are feeling versus what your are needing.  Once defined you can start filling your time with doing more of what you need to revel in your success right now, starting with “I Like Being Me”.
  • Write down what you are grateful for today.
  • Write down anything you did or felt that is moving you towards more of what you want.
  • Write down the things you see around your that you like.

Your thoughts drive what you do, they are your manifesto to your life’s journey.

You’ll find you already have in you what you need to be successful at life, love, career, money, triathlon, fill in the blank.  You just aren’t giving yourself time enough to even acknowledge it, practice it, or live it.

You are too busy trying to plan for more in your head.  You’ve been saying yes to everything, super hero to anyone that looks like they are judging you, filling your time with what you think you are supposed to do and finding yourself a little resentful, a little tired, a little unfulfilled instead of defining, doing and actually enjoying what really makes you happy.

ReVIBE is about transpiring the essence of who and what you are into what you offer to yourself, to those in your life and to the world.

ReVIBE is about discovering alignment with what you say, think and do, and putting it into practice in a way that finally brings content, peace and joy no matter where you are in the world today.

ReVIBE | Life Habits + Move into Your Paradise + Write + I Like Being Me + Live in Color – Opens for registration June 2012

Jt Clough lives on the Big Island, Hawaii, and practices health, happiness and natural remedies, while working as a ReVIBE Habits Coach for people looking to live healthier and happier lives.  She is a dog whisperer for our best friends and studies natural dog remedies, nutrition and communication.

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10 Comments on Ulitmate Success is All in Your Head

  1. Bobbi Emel
    May 3, 2012 at 6:33 am (12 years ago)

    Hey JT, great ideas here! I agree with you that it is SO easy to get stuck in our heads and miss out on life. Your idea of journaling is a good way to make noticing the present moment a practice rather than an occasional exercise.

  2. Lori Lynn Smith
    May 3, 2012 at 8:05 am (12 years ago)

    I like the idea of actually taking actions… so not only are you noticing what you are thinking but you are writing them down to really think about them

    you can then decide if you want to keep thinking that way or not…

    awesome strategy!

  3. Kaylee
    May 3, 2012 at 11:01 am (12 years ago)

    I *really* like this. It’s true – we’re so often in a state of seeking that we forget to be where we are. It’s always about the next step. A little planning is fine, but I think I could definitely use more appreciation of the present. Thanks for the reminder, JT. Great post.

  4. Joel Zaslofsky
    May 3, 2012 at 3:18 pm (12 years ago)

    Hi Jt,

    I liked the article but I’m unclear what ReVIBE is even after going to http://www.bigislanddog.com/habits/. Also, I don’t know what you mean by “Start prompting yourself to write something down just under that current thought about what you noticed today that you thought was:”. And you want me to write down my thoughts every hour? Wowzers, that’s aggressive. 🙂

    I’m not trying to focus on the negative here as there was a lot to like. Just wanted to point a coupe of things out.

  5. Dolly Garland
    May 4, 2012 at 10:15 am (12 years ago)

    Journaling – oh yes, I absolutely endorse that. But I think balance is also a highly overrated word. Danielle Laporte is currently doing a 30 day video series on Huffington Post, and one of the things she mentioned was something that really reasonated with me.

    Don’t worry about dividing up your life in chunks. Do you have to spend 5 hours doing this, and 5 hours doing that? No. I think what we are after is time management, but in a way that lets us enjoy the things we do + of course some things that have to be done. So it’s more about feeling like you’ve made the best of your day, and are satisfied with your overall life than just one aspect of it.

  6. Amit
    May 4, 2012 at 12:47 pm (12 years ago)

    So true, but so difficult!

  7. LORI CARPENOS
    May 4, 2012 at 6:04 pm (12 years ago)

    JT – Great that you are bringing peoples’ attention to the vast world within themselves. How easy it is to get caught up – even thinking, “I should journal now,” or some other demand we place on ourselves, is getting caught up in our heads. It’s so subtle — at another time we’ll just journal or do whatever comes to us in the moment – not on demand, but out of the natural flow. Thanks for the reminder!

  8. Claire Kerslake
    May 6, 2012 at 3:03 am (12 years ago)

    Thanks for the reminder to be more present, Jt. You are so right that often we are continually striving and we actually have what we are after right now.

  9. Sarah / Wellness The Natural Way
    May 7, 2012 at 1:07 pm (12 years ago)

    I think it’s a great idea to carry a little notebook and jot down what we are thinking every hour or so – at least for a few days so we can notice any patterns. It’s so true that we get caught up in all the shoulds and it could have been, or soons…and we miss out on what’s going on right under our nose. Another idea is to jot down something pleasant that’s happening right now in the notebook. Maybe it’s just that the air smells fresh, the sun is shining, or your desk is clean. Be interesting to juxtapose what you were just thinking about with what you notice about the present. Thanks for the inspiration.

  10. Ciara
    May 9, 2012 at 5:24 am (12 years ago)

    Brilliant post Jt, I have to remind myself daily to get out of my head and into the present, there is so much I want to do and so much I can achieve but I have to slow down and noticing is a great way to do it. I love suggestions and I will try them out. Good luck with the new habits course, very eager to hear more

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