excuses Archives | jeremyrolleston.com

Controlling my wild mind and stopping the weeds from growing

It always amazes me how quickly our body and mind tend back to the old ways. It’s like a garden that you work hard on to get to look beautiful. You spend all that time and effort getting rid of the weeds and then the moment you leave it those damn weeds start to grow again and before long, if you leave it, you have a wild overgrown garden again.

For me that’s the same as my body and mind.

Over the years I have received lots of comments from people saying they wish they had half the will power, determination and dedication that I have. But when they say it, I know that that may be the case right then (say in the middle of training and preparing for the Olympics). But I know how easily I tend back to just like everyone else. Making excuses. Running through the list of why I should not do something – like “I’m too tired”, “I’ll just work extra hard tomorrow”, “I couldn’t be bothered”, “Eating this won’t effect me that much”, etc! The weeds grow back pretty quickly !!!

Excuses are a human tendency. That little voice is always there. And it will never go away. No matter what people say or perceive or the comments that I’ve had – I know we’re all the same. Your mind is a wild animal unless you learn to control your thoughts. The weeds will always grow. So unfortunately there is no easy fix. You need to choose to overrule these thoughts.

Your mind can take you as far as you want to go in life or you can decided to limit your existence and waste all of your potential. You choose. To transform yourself inside and out is painful. Straight up. But the pain of change is only temporary, where the pain of staying where you are, drowning in unhappiness, lasts a lifetime.

So here’s some thoughts on controlling your wild mind and not letting the weeds grow !

1. You need a dream or goal – If you do not have something in life that you are working towards, you’re dead! So find that dream. Find that thing you want to do. You may have forgotten about it or considered it impossible. I have proof that if you decide to go after something with everything you’ve got, envisioning success in every moment, regardless of what you see or feel in the natural – you can achieve anything! After all , what is an Aussie boy who lives at Manly doing competing in the snow and ice in bobsleigh in the Olympics. And hopefully there is lots of inspiration throughout this blog to get you moving along this path.

2. It always starts with a decision – In the moment that you have the opportunity to either decide to do something that brings you closer to your goal or to decide to make 10,000 excuses why you should avoid the choice that you know you should make, tell yourself to shut up and win that moment. As you increase the moments that you win as opposed to giving in, eventually you will wake up a different person.

3. Become aware of your thinking – become aware of the excuses running through your brain and the self-talk inside your head.

4. One brick at a time – Once you’re aware of your thinking you can practice overruling them. You can’t just snap your fingers and change your way of thinking, you need to start small and practice on little things. Day by day. Decision by decision. Building up your mental toughness one brick at a time. It’s like doing a little bit of gardening every day !

4. Some practical tips – Here’s some tips from a past blog on HOW to conquer that little voice

So good luck. I believe in you!

Rollo

A sign …

I hope you’re smiling and I hope you’re challenged !

How bad do you want it ?

Today I have invited a good mate of mine Tim Birch to write the weekly blog. Tim is an inspirational guy and one of those good guys all-round. In many ways we’re cut out of the same stone and we often trade quotes or videos or thoughts. That was why, as expected, I knew he’d come up with something inspiring and challenging. Over to you Tim …

“How often does ‘life’ get in the way of our best laid plans and intentions? So often the things we know we want to achieve get pushed further and further away due to the circumstance we let limit us…

I say ‘let’ because there is always a choice. A choice to say ‘Yes, I’m getting up when the alarm sounds to take a step in achieving my dream’, or ‘Yes, I’ll spend my weekend focussing on my studies’. The alternatives to these two scenarios may be staying in the warm, cosy bed or heading out to see friends for dinner…but at what cost.

You need to make your goals and dreams mean something and often it is only when these things seem like they will be taken from us that we start to really fight for what we want.

The below clip illustrates that, “when you want to succeed, as bad as you want to breath, only then will you be able to succeed”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aowB5wNPvWQ&feature=player_embedded

Don’t tell me how bad you want to succeed. Get up each day and show me. No one will remember you for what you planned to accomplish in life. You will only be remembered for what you actually did.

My challenge – What will you do today ?

Pure Inspiration

Ahhhhh – life ebbs and flows and some days we feel good about ourselves and other days we feel bad about ourselves.

Today for me is one of those days. I woke up feeling sorry for myself, without much motivation, without much inspiration for anything. And then I saw this ! …

How can I ever feel sorry for myself. How can I not be inspired. Sure it is a 12 minute video, but those 12 minutes may change your life forever and these images may stay with you for a long time to come (in a good way). Amazing. Encouraging. Challenging.

You’re welcome.

Overcoming adversity

When I wrote my book ‘A Life That Counts‘ there were a couple of people I wanted in the book who I thought were inspirational but for one reason or another couldn’t be part of it. Paul Degelder is one of those inspirational people – a navy clearance diver who was attacked by a shark in Sydney Harbour. Read and watch his story and be inspired …

Sydney Morning Herald, Feb. 11, 2009. A navy diver fought off a shark as it attacked him during an anti-terrorism training exercise in Sydney Harbour, the navy says. Able Seaman Paul Degelder, 31, of the clearance diving team based at HMAS Penguin at Balmoral, is in a serious but stable condition following the attack at Woolloomooloo Bay, in Sydney’s inner east, just before 7am today. A NSW ambulance spokesman said he suffered severe injuries to his right hand and leg and is serious but stable in St Vincents Hospital. Able Seaman Degelder was taking part in the Kondari Trial, a test of new technologies to protect ports and ships from terrorist attack, which began on Monday.A spokesman for the Defence Science and Technology Organisation said it was likely the trial would be cancelled today. A defence spokesman said it was the first recorded attack on a navy clearance diver. He said no shark repellent equipment was used as the equipment was only used in water deemed to be a high risk of shark attack. Sydney Harbour had been assessed as being low risk, he said. There was also no sonar equipment being used.

I defy you not to be inspired by what he’s doing 12 months on and how he has overcome the adversity that he faced (and continues to face). And remember Paul next time you feel like throwing a pity party or skipping your workout. I know I will …

Could'a, Should'a, Would'a

I’m always surprised by the number of people who say they’ll do something and never do, who plan to do something and never do and who want to do something but never do. I call these people – could’a, should’a, would’a sort of people.

I never want to be a could’a, should’a, would’a sort of person because to me that spells regrets. That person spells never having the guts to have a go regardless of the outcome. That person spells dreams they haven’t followed. That person spells disappointment inside eating away at them because they never did something. That person spells talk is cheap. That person spells what they say is not what they do and so they’re word cannot be trusted. That person spells, when they make a decision they don’t keep it. That person spells, either they never start it or even if they do they start strong and finish weak.

This is a picture that I put up on my wall in the Olympic Village in Torino when I was competing at the Winter Olympics in 2006. It was my first Olympics and I was conscious that I didn’t want to just get there. I wanted to compete to the best of my ability and let my actions speak louder than my words. I equalled the Australian record in my first year as pilot. It is something I’m proud of. But I’m equally as proud of not being a could’a, should’a, would’a sort of person.

My challenge – the next decision you make – do it ! Talk is cheap.

The little voice

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr

This quote reminds me of the little voice. That little voice in our heads that we always hear. The little voice that doubts. That little voice that says we can’t do something. That little voice that presents us so eloquently with all those excuses we accept – just like the video in my last blog entry contained. That little voice that contributes to us cracking under pressure. That little voice that breaks our discipline. The little voice of daily compromise.

We all face it. Noone is immune. Everyone faces it equally. And it never goes away. And you can always rationalise it. And the worst thing – noone can hear it and noone except yourself knows if you’re given in to it.

Winning this daily battle of taking control of your thoughts, feeling and attitudes is crucial if we want to achieve anything significant. There’s no easy formula to developing mental toughness and ignoring the little voice but here’s a few tips on techniques that you can use as ‘circuit breakers’ when those negative thoughts come into your head. These will give you a chance to quickly take stock, to not let that negative little voice runs its usual pattern, and give you the chance to change your thinking in that moment.

And just watch – if we can replace all our negative thoughts with positive thoughts, imagine how our performance, our output and our behaviour would change. Try it.

Tip # 1 – When the negative thought comes into your head, yell ‘STOP !‘ to yourself. Out loud if appropriate or inside your head. Now replace with a positive

Tip # 2 – When the negative thought comes into your head, name as many animals as you can as quickly as you can. ‘pig, cow, giraffe, elephant, cat …’ This is a circuit breaker for the existing negative thought. Now replace with a positive.

Tip # 3 – When the negative thought comes into your head, count to 10 out loud as quickly as you can.

Tip # 4 – When the negative thought comes into your head, grab your breast or crotch or punch yourself. Sounds weird doesn’t it. But again, this acts as a circuit breaker for the negative thought so you can replace it with a positive one. And just watch, you’ll start to catch yourself before the negative thought starts running because this action is so embarrassing !

Good luck !

‘Dare to Dream’ and excuses

This video reminds me of the many things that hold us back from becoming all we can be. The excuses that hold us back from being all we WANT to be deep down. The little voice that derails us from fulfilling our potential. The reasons we accept that ultimately stop us from chasing and realising our dreams.

There are a number of things that hold us back. Excuses are one. Limiting mindsets and beliefs are another (whether they come from self-imposed beliefs and limitations we put on ourselves or whether they come from others opinions of what we can or can’t do). Fears are another. Fears of making a fool of ourself. Fears of failure. Fear of putting our heart on the line and opening ourself up to heartbreak. Fear of all the hard work not being worth it.

As my first blog entry the thing I most want to encourage you with is to Dare to Dream. We all have dreams. We all have a vision of how we would like our lives to be. That perfect day. That ideal future. But having the guts to step out and actually chase that dream – to dare to dream is another thing entirely. It takes courage. It takes a willingness to step out and put your dream on the line.

• So what’s holding you back from actually stepping out ?
• What are the excuses that you tell yourself that stop you from becoming all you could be ?
• What is the little voice in your head telling you that you can’t do ?
• What are the limiting beliefs you have about what you think you can or can’t do ?
• What are those things that you are fearful of that are like a chain around your ankle as you try to take steps towards your ideal future ?

Take time to audit yourself and have a think about the excuses, the fears, and the limiting mindsets and beliefs holding you back and then take the first step – make a commitment to yourself … to ‘Dare to Dream’.

This is the first but often hardest step. But most importantly it is the first step – a choice only you can make.