Push Mode
If you have to drive others towards an objective, even drive yourself towards it, I call this being in push
mode.
Push mode is typified by focusing your attention on problems that need to be resolved, or things that need
fixing. Many people use a 'todo' list or a GTD (getting things done) system. Are you one of them? Take a
look at yours now and see if it is a list of problems.
The fun, creative or enjoyable things rarely make it onto a 'todo' list - rather there is a tendency to say that
once the list is done and I have time, then I'll do the fun stuff.
What's more, you will already know that the things we pay attention to are the things that grow and the
things we don't pay attention to tend to fade away. So if we focus on problems (call them challenges or
issues if you must but they are still the same thing), we will find that the problems grow. So here's a
radical thought, if we focus our attention on interesting, exciting, fun things, they will grow. And our
problems, won't they fade away?
"But you don't understand. I have to get this report done, I have a ton of emails to clear, I have to attend
this meeting, I have calls to make to angry customers, and if I don't I'll get fired. I simply don't have time
to talk to people, take it easy, smell the flowers..."
And when your stress levels have made you so sick that you can't work, let alone afford the hospital bills
you'll feel what exactly? Accomplished? Valued? Important?
Nothing more satisfying than lying in bed recovering from a heart attack knowing how much your
contribution is missed.
I'm not saying that these things (some of them anyway) don't need to be done but that by not focusing on
them, they will (and do) fade away. Oftentimes, they just get done. Without stress, without worry.
In Push Mode, we are continuously pushing ourselves (and others) towards our goals relying on our own
effort to keep us on our straight and planned track. Obstacles that we face in our way are enemies to
progress which may force us to re- plan our route. Our motivation stems from outside forces, the concrete
and measurable goal is frequently thought to be motivation enough and any resistance to achieving the
goal, self-inflicted or external resistance, is just another obstacle.
In Push Mode, when progress is slow, we re-plan and consider time management a priority. Only, unless
you have discovered the secret to warping the space-time continuum, you cannot actually manage time.
Drift Mode
The stresses of Push Mode, always making things happen and forever coming up against obstacles and
'time-wasters', causes many people to fall into Drift Mode rather than Pull Mode.
Drift Mode is quite different to Pull Mode, somewhat 'New-Agey' in influence where one just 'lets things
happen'. call it karma, fate, life forces, whatever - it generally involves emptying your mind of worries and
anxieties and just letting life happen to you. Whatever way the wind blows, you drift along with it.
You might end up on an agreeable shore when you allow yourself to drift over the seas of life, or you might
end up somewhere unpleasant, or. most probably, you'll just continue drifting along.
Pull Mode is different because there is a clear and articulated vision of your compelling goal that is pulling
you towards it. The aimlessness of Drift Mode may be refreshing for a while, but the anxieties of life will
soon catch up and cause as much stress as Push Mode already does for the vast majority of people.
The journey is not always easy or straightforward. Let's return to Tiger Woods...
There was another reason, his knee. A physical problem that seems to not want to go away. But what
makes Tiger stand out so much from the rest is not just his aptitude for the game, his superior technical
skill... it's his mindset. In spite of being in a great deal of pain... he overcame it with a determination, the
will and resilience that allowed his technical brilliance to shine.
A Positive attitude
We all have days (sometimes weeks and months) where everything seems to be going wrong. Whatever
you try to do, however clear your goal - there just doesn't seem to be any progress.
Sports psychologists refer to the period when everything is going well and peak performance is apparent as
being 'in the zone'. Golfers who find their rhythm and the ball lands just so. The athlete who has trained
and is at their physical and mental peak runs the race of their life. The business person who's found
themselves in the right place at the right time with the right product or service.
Yet most of the time, we just ain't there. We yank the club and the ball lands in the bunker. Our business
would be just great if we just land this additional sale.
Some days, it's hard to wake up and find the energy to put on a brave face and go out there knowing that
today probably isn't that day, hoping that it is but not really believing it. We known we have to learn and
improve but just when is my breakthrough going to come.
It may not come today, but one thing I can assure you of - something about today is better than
yesterday.
Your Choice
People who have achieved great success know what they want to achieve and have a clear vision of their
future.
They recognise that their technical ability, their aptitude is one (small) part that contributes to their
achievement and constantly strive to improve.
Most importantly, they keep on keeping on, keep turning up and are prepared to learn and change whilst
maintaining a positive attitude.
Even Tiger has a bad round of golf - nothing like as bad as most of us but bad for him. Do you see him
quitting?
You were created to soar at altitude like an eagle not peck the dirt like a chicken.