"Adopt an attitude of flexibility. If there's one emotion to cultivate to guarantee success, it's the ability to change your approach. Throughout your life there will be situations you won't be able to control. Your ability to be flexible in your rules, the meaning you attach to things, and your actions will determine your long term success or failure, not to mention your level of personal joy." (Anthony Robbins)
We must remain committed to our goals and yet allow ourselves to be flexible in our approach. Why is this attitude of flexibility important? Because in life, things do not always go as smoothly as planned. We encounter obstacles and challenges daily and must learn how to stay the course even when the sea is not smooth. When we take an attitude of flexibility, we are able to bend with the wind rather than break. We do not give up on our goals just because we encountered an obstacle, we instead, stay committed to our decisions and goals even if we must take another approach. We should all have plans in place to reach our goals; however, we should also have contingency plans in place in case unexpected circumstances change our original plan. Unexpected circumstances are no excuse to dump our commitment to what we said we were going to do to achieve our goals. If we adopt a flexible approach by keeping contingency plans in place, we can adjust our sails when the seas get rough and stay the course. For example, I workout in the evenings, but I keep a contingency plan for the early morning when I know that I will be unable to workout in the evening due to schedule conflicts that sometimes arise. A pre-planned rest day on the weekend may become a make-up workout day if I missed a workout day during the week due to unavoidable circumstances. I can honestly say that other than illness or planned vacations, I've never faltered on keeping my 5 day/week workout commitment because I keep contingency plans in place to make sure my workouts are accomplished each week regardless of what comes up. Contingency plans sometimes require sacrifice (getting up earlier to get a workout in before the day gets in the way), but this is part of being flexible and committed to your goals. Learn to be open minded and flexible in your approach and your strategies to accomplishing your tasks. Don't allow unexpected circumstances to frustrate you or discourage you from your goals to succeed. Simply focus on how you need to adjust your approach and redirect your path in order to accomplish your goals for the day. Don't dump your goals due to a change in plans, instead change your approach...be flexible. There will never be the perfect setting, the perfect environment, the perfect conditions...life is full of unexpected changes and circumstances...we may perceive these situations as obstacles, but when we become flexible in our approach, we can use obstacles as stepping stones on our path to accomplishing our goals and achieving our dreams. Don't change your goal, change your approach. Stay focused on your goals. Think about your goals--what plans do you have in place to meet your goals and what contingency plans do you have in place? How can you be more flexible in your approach and strategies?
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