I was thinking about the topic of stress, and was challenged in my morning reading by John Mark Comer and his book, "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry". It's been a challenging read and I'm still working through the application. Today I read a chapter on "slowing down", which I quickly disregarded. I've got too much to do today to slow down!

Later today I ran an errand that included getting gas.

It was actually comical.

- I hit every light on the way to the gas station.

- I chose the gas line that moved the slowest (by mistake)

- The car in front of me had a problem, so they couldn't move out of way in order for me to get gas. I just sat and laughed.

- Leaving the gas station, I got stuck at a traffic light that wasn't working, and it took almost 10 minutes for me to get through it.

My 10 minute errand took me almost an hour to complete.

I don't have time today to learn any lessons! I've got too much to do.

I may be the only one dealing with stress here, but this past week has been an ongoing lesson. 

First, as I shared with you last week, I have identified that there's some stress in my life and it affects me in many ways.

Second, for some reason, I've come face-to-face with the impact of stress this week through a book I'm reading, through a podcast my wife shared with me and through some strategic conversation with people that are experiencing some of the same things.

I don't want to rush to the solution.

Here are some things I'm continuing to learn:

*Did you know that between 75% and 90% of all doctors visits are for issues related to STRESS?

This week, my wife and I had a visit from a good friend that we hadn't seen in a while, and when I was asked how I'm doing, I responded "I'm just managing the stress" or something like that. My wife looked at me. I have no idea where that came from, and I don't know why I would say that.

Here's the reality though... "I'm just managing through the stress."

I am experiencing some stress. I'm in another "busy season". I've been traveling and travel again this weekend. I haven't been eating great. I haven't been to the gym for 2 weeks. I'm not sleeping well. My "to do" list is long. I'm working long hours. My daughter is getting married in 6 weeks! There's some financial pressure....

I could go on and on, but when I honestly look at my life today, I have every reason to be experiencing some stress.

It's January 28th, ALREADY?

I feel like the year just started, and here we are, winding up January in just a few days.

We've been talking about priorities and getting things done this month. 

Did you know...

- That 80 percent of peoples New Years Resolutions fail by February? (US News & World Report)

- January 12th is the day most people "ditch" their resolutions. (We passed that day over 2 weeks ago)

- Only 9.2 percent of people keep their resolutions throughout the year

A RESOLUTION is defined as "a firm decision to do or not to do something".  In leadership, we call this a GOAL.  We focus more on the aspect of "aiming for something for a desired result".

JUST GET MOVING

The year was 1976, and as a 7th grader my dad took me to see a new movie that had just come out.. Rocky.  The story of an boxer who was given the chance of a lifetime to fight the world champion.  The movie was a great story and inspirational. The morning after watching the movie, I joined boys around the world by starting the day drinking 5 raw eggs, just like Rocky did.

This past week, my wife and I had about 3 hours in the city of Philadelphia. We were there at 6:00am on a Sunday Morning, so we had to settle with a drive by of the Liberty Bell and some of the sights in the city, but we did get to see the iconic Rocky statue.

There are a couple of scenes in the movie that show Rocky training. In an early scene, he's working hard, he's barely able to make it up the steps in the city, but later in the movie, after his training, he's ready, and we see him run up the steps anticipating the fight.

VISUAL PRIORITIES AND WHITE BOARDS

I heard from one of our readers and a friend of mine this past week that by putting a white board in her office, it has helped her with her tasks, goals and her to-do list.  Thank you Linda for your comments.

This got me thinking about the power of putting your lists, goals and action items in front of you as a way to remind you, to inspire you and to keep you focused.

Many of you know my love of technology. I try to keep up with the best apps, I take advantage of multiple devices, and am always looking for electronic tools that increase productivity and effectiveness. 

However, many of you also know of my love of white boards. I couldn't survive without a large, white surface to write, think, dream, erase and plan.  My office at one time had an entire wall of white boards on it, and now I have a couple that serve me well.  I even have a small one that fits in my carry-on bag that I can carry with me and use with a one-to-one meeting with someone.  I know, a little obsessive.

PRIORITIES

This morning I had coffee with a friend that shared with me the importance of his "to-do list". He uses a blend of paper and electronics to determine what he does each day, and he shared how good he feels when he gets through that list each day.

Last week I listened to a podcast of Gary Keller (The One Thing/Keller-Williams) and he talked about his "to-do list" and how important is was for him to define that list and work it each day.

Today I want to share how I manage mine:

I use my computer and phone to take notes of things that I need to do, then I bring it together with my calendar.

I use an Action Planner Pad from NeuYear to write out my daily plan. 

#4) PRIORITIES: Learning to Say No

Let's wrap up these 4 conversations. Today is simple:

Instead of reading a post by me on PRIORITIES, why don't you get away from your computer and do something SIGNIFICANT:

- Serve Someone

- Show Love to Someone

- Take a Long Walk and Enjoy the Day

- Lay on Your Couch And Read Fiction

- Enjoy Your Family

- Take a Nap

- I could go on and on...

Next week I'll dive into PRIORITIES as we launch into a New Year!

Today, turn it off and do something that will make a difference in your life or the lives of those you care about.