PEAK PERFORMANCE

THROW OUT THE NEGATIVES IN YOUR LIFE.

It’s March 2020, and the 19th is officially springtime. Corporate taxes are due, and personal taxes will soon be paid, if not already. Your kids have spring break, and it needs to be planned. Spring training has arrived, and the Cubs and White Sox will begin the season in first place. Your golf game is soon out of hibernation, and The Masters is just around the (Amen) corner. The NBA playoffs are shaping up, and the NCAA Final Four will soon be determined. Most NFL teams are juggling their rosters for next fall. The first quarter at work is closing, and your secondquarter results are going to rock.—And the weather will get much, much better.

Now it’s time for a new, awesome you. Spring-cleaning is here, and it is not limited to your physical closets and junk drawers. It’s time to clean the clutter from your mind. More than 30 percent of your thoughts are waste. Many of these thoughts can actually sabotage your goals and dreams. These unnecessary, extra thoughts can weigh you down, while they shackle your imagination. They restrict your freedom. These thoughts occur at sporadic, uninvited times, and they attract negative emotions that wreak havoc on your life. Some of these useless thoughts can linger for weeks, months and even years. It’s time to clear them from your performance pathway like debris from the sidewalk.

First, recognize why these extra thoughts have arrived on the screen of space in your mind. Ask yourself the following ten questions:

1. Do I have too many goals that lack the discipline of planning? 2. Do I make negative comparisons to other people? 3. Do I have failures that still haunt me? 4. Do I have too little time and too much to do? 5. Do I wait for circumstances and conditions to change before I can act? 6. Do I rely too much on other people and care too much what they think? 7. Do I lack a life blueprint with welldefined visions and goals? 8. Do I associate with negative people? 9. Do I put me last and think more about other people than myself?

10. Do I have too little confidence?

Any yes answer to these questions can be the cause of feelings of impatience, frustration, low confidence, worry, anxiety, anger, jealousy, fear, sadness, apathy, misery, despair, low self-esteem or depression.

Get mentally organized: Think less, so you can produce more.

Jim Fannin Columnist Jim’s new book, The Blueprint: A Proven Plan For Successful Living is now on amazon.com. “The Jim Fannin Show” is on Apple Podcasts, Sticher Google Play and TuneIn Radio. Follow Jim Fannin on Twitter, LinkedIN, Facebook and Instagram.

To accomplish this, you will need the following short list of forget-ables, do-ables and be-ables.

Forget-ables

These are people, places and things that you do not need to dwell on. Forget about… • The negative past. Quit replaying every negative scenario that has occurred. Learn from the first replay of the past, and then move on. Next. This is your new battle-cry. Forget about it! • Negative people. Make these people positive, eliminate them entirely from your life, avoid them at all costs or immunize yourself from their negativity. Forget about it! • What he or she said. Dwelling on this is futile. Everyone has an agenda, and some have agendas they don’t even know about. Trying to figure all this out is a waste, unless you’re embarking on a psychology career. Forget about it! • Assumption thinking. “She’ll probably want me to host this. She always does.” Why go here? Why try to predict the unpredictable? Why ponder the imponderable, unquantifiable, inestimable, incalculable, immeasurable and the virtually unknown? This should make anyone tired. Forget about it! • Being perfect. Are you approaching life like you’re planning your wedding? I know the devil is in the details; however, life is more fun when there is some spontaneity. Wing it sometimes. My favorite vacations had no itinerary. Mistakes? Being perfect? Forget about it!

Do-ables

Do these things for more control over your life. • Have “national silence week.” Choose a week and declare a moratorium on too much thought. Proclaim it “national silence week.” Speak less. Add silence to each day. When questions are asked of you, be silent for a few seconds before responding. Hold your opinions longer. Talking over other people is forbidden. Abandon the need to talk on your cell-phone. Only make calls that are absolutely necessary. • One goal for March. Choose one well-defined, major goal that you will reach by March 31. Once completed, select another goal to be completed by the end of the next month. Make these goals measurable. Hold yourself accountable. • Reduce speaking. Tomorrow, (after reading this,) reduce your speaking by 50 percent. Make this “observation day.” Observe your surroundings. Notice the season changing. Stay off the phone as much as you can. Watch for positive people; identify negative people. Do not judge them—just be aware. • Dine alone. Eat several meals alone each week (if possible). Hanging out with your best friend (you) is a good thing. These meals are for pondering and positive thinking. Take your time. Put your fork down between bites. Dining alone without negative thinking will invigorate and liberate you. • Go to sleep happy. Within 30 minutes of deep sleep, only think about what serves you well—zero thoughts about the past. Envision what you want, not what you don’t want. There’s science behind this. • Prepare every week. Every Sunday night, get ready for your greatest week ever. Positive mental imagery and overall dress rehearsal are the purpose. See it as it will be. However, this is not a to-do list with laundry pick-up and a haircut. Prepare the big (macro) things that matter. • Practice extreme positivity. This is the mindset of the champion. Eradicate negative self-talk—no judge, no victim. Avoid using "should-have," "could-have" and "would-have" statements. This do-able of extreme positivity is crucial for success. and calm before you react. Breathe several deep breaths before speaking or acting. • Be focused. Take pride in accomplishing one thing at a time. Lock in on what you need to deliver and do it; see it to the conclusion. A golfer never sees the bunkers and other hazards until he or she takes their eyes off the flag. Put on your blinders and get it done. • Be disciplined. Operate with a simple plan with corresponding strategy and tactics. Commit to it. Prepare backups if your main plan goes awry. • Be happy. Act the part by showcasing your passion, enthusiasm and excitement in all you do. Smile inside, and your body language will follow your lead. Soon those around you will reflect this back to you. Allow your inner awesomeness to surface. Think about this statement: “There’s no place I’d rather be than where I am right now.” This has served my clients well for over four decades. • Be yourself. This is a must. Stop hiding your wild side that’s all tucked away in your mental attic. Let go a little. Sing and dance for no reason, if that’s how you feel. Allow your “genuine” self to surface.

The best in the world think less and produce more. Spring is here: it’s time to throw out what you don’t need. Get busy with your forget-ables, do-ables and be-ables.

Be-ables

This list is powerful. If personal reinvention is needed, then conjure up your inner Edison.

• Be confident. Keep your chin up with nothing but positives, no matter what happens or occurs. Be the most confident person anyone knows. Think about what you think about. This be-able challenge is doable. • Be “cool.” Immediately relax when confrontation or disappointment arrives. Take 90 seconds or fewer to be “cool”

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