How to Complete your Hardest Task of the Day by Using this Ancient Method
Do you put off the hardest task you face in your day?
Often, the perceived discomfort of the hardest task means that we delay facing it, or sometimes, completely avoid it. We hope we won’t have to do it at all; with luck, it will somehow pass us by or someone else will do it for us.
This is understandable when it’s just something we don’t enjoy or an area we feel weak in. However, when we keep putting off our hopes and dreams from one day to the next, it’s frustrating and dispiriting.
Time is a treasure and as each day passes, we lose our opportunities. We can’t even be certain of how much time we have left!
It’s time to face your fears, take the bull by the horns and show your true mettle.
The Stoic philosophers of Ancient Greece exercised their mental resilience and strength, focusing on the positives of what they could control in life, and the acceptance of what they couldn’t control in life. They used to practice the daily routine of negative visualisation to desensitise themselves to disappointments that might arise within day. Imagining themselves on their death bed they would gain strength and perspective on their accomplishments, disappointments, and their regrets. This is what motivated them to get on with life, and seize opportunities as they arose, without fear. After all, what is more frightening and motivating than imagining no longer being alive and unable to achieve what you want within your lifetime. They would turn this disaster into a positive frame of mind and the bravery to grasp the “bull” of life by its horns.
The Ancient Roman Emperor and Stoic Practitioner, Marcus Aurelius, said:
“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.”
How to Complete Your Most Difficult Task of the Day
Choose the most difficult task on your day’s list.
Imagine the least that might happen and the absolute worst that might happen.
See it not as a problem, but as a challenge to overcome, to make you stronger.
Take a deep breath and feel the strength of the air in your chest, squeeze a fist at the same time to feel even more determination, and as you breathe out say in your mind or out loud, “It’s nothing really. Let’s get this done!”
Start with the very first committed action of no return: dialling that number, turning the handle of the door of the room where the challenge lies, or picking up the tool and figuratively making that first committed cut.
Conclusion
Things rarely turn out as badly as we think. It is our past negative experiences or future doubts that sabotage us. One important thing to remember is, if one person can do something we admire, we can give it a good go as well with similar results of some degree.
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If you would like to take control of your thoughts, read my book “Be Happy more often”