Written by: Antonio Esposito, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In the middle of your journey to success, while you are taking daily action towards your most important goals and dreams, developing a high-level awareness of everything happening inside and outside yourself is crucial. I call this "action-result awareness," a simple self-evaluation practice that, unfortunately, not many people acknowledge the importance of it.
In a world that moves at the speed of light and in a society where everything must be achieved, consumed, and processed as fast as possible, concepts like slowing down, pausing, reflecting, and thinking are considered out of fashion.
It's a well-known concept, though, that achieving success (whatever means to you) requires time and, most importantly, requires that we perform some consistent periodic actions.
In a few words, it is impossible to reach a target just by thinking about it or simply by hoping to be, do and have something without engaging in some action-oriented process.
Now, assuming you are taking all the actions needed to reach your targets, are you taking the time to consider, reflect and examine the results you are having as a result of those actions?
As human beings, we know that our time on this earth is limited; therefore seems like success of any kind must be achieved quickly and with less pain as possible.
Unfortunately, though, words like quick, easy, fast, and all the synonymous you can think of do not match the profound concept and meaning of success.
Success requires time, and, in my opinion, most of that time must be used thinking and reflecting on who we are, what we genuinely want emotionally and most importantly, what kind of outcomes we're experiencing from the action we are already taking.
The law of cause and effect is a universal law that states that every action we perform produces a reaction no matter what.
It means then that all your actions, either the small ones or the big ones, are producing some effects and results that, in one way or another, are impacting your life in the present and your achievement in the future.
With this in mind, it's evident that an essential step towards realising all your most important goals and dreams is to spend quality time reflecting on the actions you are taking and on all the outcomes you're producing right now as a result of those actions.
A common mistake many people make is avoiding this self-reflection step by rushing the process and focusing only on achieving a target.
Often they move; they take action, but they proceed only by a trial and error, hoping to find the best possible path to follow, without engaging in a deep reflecting period where the evaluation of every single step taken would give them invaluable feedback on how to proceed and in which direction to move.
With this in mind, I would like you to spend the next couple of days to reflect some of your goals.
Think, for example, at all the actions you've taken so far and the ones you are taking right now and with brutal honesty, answer some or all of the following questions:
Are my actions bringing me closer to my goal or far away?
If my actions are taking me closer to my target, how can I even improve them?
What can I do differently if my actions bring me far from my dream?
Are the steps I take courageous and bold enough?
What am I pretending of not knowing?
Is there anything I am afraid of?
Who am I when I take those actions?
Those questions and many others you can think of that will allow you to challenge yourself and your journey are aimed to raise your awareness of your action and your result so that you will know precisely what is working, what must be changed, what must be stopped or improved to achieve what you want.
Avoiding this step will cost you precious time, frustration, and lots of pain that, in one way or another, you will pay for in the future.
Decide then to take some time off from the "DO ONLY" and reflect on the journey you have been on so far. Reflect on what you have done, how you have done it and most importantly, reflect on who you are becoming in the process of achieving.
Be brutally honest on this action-result evaluation without being afraid to challenge or change what is not working.
Be courageous enough to admit that maybe something is not functioning as it should and be flexible enough to evaluate different paths to follow.
Keeping an eye on your final destination is very important, but remember that the little steps you will take daily will help you eventually arrive at your desired destination.
I promise you that an in-depth evaluation of all those little steps will have a massive impact on the results you will experience in the long run and on the quality of the success you will achieve.
"If you concentrate on small, manageable steps, you can cross unimaginable distances." ― Shaun Hick
Peace,
Antonio
If you enjoyed this article, I would like to know more about your insights and breakthroughs from reading it; then, if you are up to the challenge of mastering your Emotional Intelligence, and bringing your life to the next level, book a one-to-one 30-minute FREE Consultation with me!
Antonio Esposito, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Antonio is a Life Performance Coach, a Mentor, and an NLP Practitioner certified expert in the field of Emotional Intelligence and Eating Psychology.
Moved to the United Kingdom from Italy in 2006, after enjoying 20+ years of experience in the corporate world as a senior web and graphic designer, Antonio is now the CEO and Founder of TheThinkingMind Coaching Ltd, a United Kingdom-based firm specializing in offering Coaching, Training and Personal Development services.
Antonio's mission is to change the world one person at a time.
Antonio's target is to facilitate the transformation of all those harmful and destructive mental processes by discovering one's inner self.
Through Life Coaching, Personal Development, and Behavioural Psychology techniques, Antonio enables individuals to master their Emotional Intelligence and, through a set of empowering, transformative, and life-changing strategies and actions, help, support, and motivate people in achieving their most important goals.
Antonio has a unique perspective on personal growth and happiness.
He is recognized for his ability to lead others to maximize their full potential through living a life of purpose, balance, and significance.
Since 2017, Antonio is also a member of the prestigious team of Mentors at The Coaching Academy, where he has coached and mentored hundreds of students worldwide to successfully complete their training journey as Professional Certified Life and Executive Business coaches.
