The Quiet and Strong Podcast, Especially for Introverts

Ep 57 - Focus On The Important, Especially for Introverts

February 14, 2022 David Hall, M.Ed. Season 1 Episode 57
The Quiet and Strong Podcast, Especially for Introverts
Ep 57 - Focus On The Important, Especially for Introverts
Show Notes Transcript

It's February! Have you started to fizzle out on your New Year's goals or are you still going strong?

In this episode, we'll discuss ways to prioritize and refocus on the goals and activities that are most important in our lives.  Has your situation changed since you set your goals? Have you had roadblocks and life getting in the way of your success?  Get some purposeful strategies especially for introverts to get your plans back on track.


Books referenced in this podcast:

Rory Vaden - Procrastinate on Purpose
Steve Chandler - Time Warrior

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David Hall

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David Hall [00:00:08]:

Hello. And welcome to the quiet and strong podcasts, especially for introverts. I'm your host, David Hall, and the creator of quiet and strong dot com. It's a weekly podcast dedicated to understanding the strengths and needs of introverts. Intraversion is not something to fix, but to be embraced. Normally, we'll air each episode on a Monday. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite platform. Leave a review. Tell a friend, help get the word out there.

David Hall [00:00:36]:

So how's this year going? Did you set goals for the new year? You know, ringing in the new year gives us a chance to reflect on who we are reevaluate where we're going and reset our goals and objectives as we chart our course for the new year. With this renewed energy, It's easy to come up with a long list of impressive goals that will remake us into whomever it is that we think we should be. However, it could be much more difficult frustrating and self defeating to actually follow through on those goals if we're trying to work against our nature instead of building on our strengths. I do set goals every year. Some years I've failed miserably. But I've learned that when I understand who I am and work with my own unique gifts in figuring out how to achieve those goals, I realize much greater success. I believe you can achieve most anything you set your mind to, but your odds of succeeding increase exponentially when you have a plan to increase your goal that takes your own strengths into consideration. And then You have to reevaluate that plan on a regular basis.

David Hall [00:01:49]:

Things are gonna happen. Plenty of unexpected things. We're in a worldwide pandemic, for example, and maybe you got sick, or maybe you've been caring for someone that is sick. Our house was hit with it last month. And I was out for a couple weeks. It definitely took a toll on my family. Thankfully, everyone in my house has recovered now. or maybe you have some new projects at work since the beginning of the year.

David Hall [00:02:14]:

I know this is the case for me, or maybe you have some new duties to adjust to. Another thing is I know as an introvert, I constantly have ideas, and I have a lot I want to accomplish. I've had plenty of ideas since I made my goals for the year. And now based on a lot of different things, it's time for me to prioritize. You can't do it all. So you need to focus on what is most important. Rory Vaden in procrastinate on purpose states success in business, at home, and in life, doesn't come from applying all of our resources proportionately throughout different areas. In fact, it's just the opposite Success is usually a result of focusing our talents, money, time, energy, and one priority direction for a shorter period of time to create a desired result, which intake the stairs.

David Hall [00:03:14]:

That's another book by Vaden take the stairs. I called the season. In one word, a season is best defined as imbalance, end quote. So I'm realizing And I have realized when I'm trying to do it all, I feel out of control, and I'm not accomplishing some of the things that are most important to me. In order to be successful, you need to decide what your top priorities are. I like how Vaden categorizes the various areas of life, faith, family, fitness, fun, faculty, faculty means work. and finances. What are your most important priorities in each of these areas? What goals will you accomplish? And what will you need to leave undone? Realizing your goals is not about checking off a lot of to do's, but instead deciding what what is truly most important to you identifying activities you should do to achieve those goals and then setting those activities into action.

David Hall [00:04:20]:

I've also come to learn that success is not about balance, but it's about priorities as as Vaden was saying. Some days, you may need to spend more time on a particular project. And some days, you may need more of a break alone or maybe with your family or friends. Success is not about balance, but it's about priorities. I've been at points in both my work and home life where I was feeling so overwhelmed. spending too much time working. Not enough time with my family and other outside of work and just feeling like I was spinning my wheels. You know, it's time like these that you really need to sit back and make a list of those top projects or priorities that you need to accomplish this coming year.

David Hall [00:05:11]:

List, your various roles. In my case, I'm a husband. I'm a father, brother, supervisor employee. podcaster, blogger, and think about the various areas of faith, family, fitness, fun, work, and finances. I found it helpful to make a visual of my top priorities and referred to it when I'm getting caught up in the day to day work. activities and other fires. There's usually different fires every day. That way I don't lose sight of what's most important.

David Hall [00:05:49]:

Work priorities are gonna change sometimes by you and sometimes by others. Things that you decided on even at the beginning of the year a few weeks ago may have already changed. So from time to time, You need to find that quiet place to give your most important priority some serious thought. It is great to do this at the New Year. but it needs to be done regularly throughout the year. As an introvert, you have a great gift of reflection. but you need to give yourself some time and have space for deep thought. Can you find a quiet place to give your most important priorities some serious thought? What's that place for you? You need some time and solitude to dream and to plan.

David Hall [00:06:35]:

I know this can be a challenge. I tend to get up earlier than the rest of my house, but Maybe for you, it's staying up later. Or maybe you need to make some deals to have some inter uninterrupted time. Again, as an introvert, you have a great gift for reflection, but you have to give yourself some time and have quiet space for deep thought. So to find that space, that solitude, grab a notebook, or your favorite device. Map out your typical day, week, month, and what you wanna accomplish. And, again, this always can be done at the beginning of the year, but you have to do it throughout the year because things change. You need to review your progress from time to time.

David Hall [00:07:28]:

I like to do this on a Sunday morning. How about you? When's a good time to find some solitude for that planning and dreaming? Do you need to make some adjustments since the last time you made priorities and set goals? What are the major things you wanna accomplish? What are some short term goals? What are long term goals? What are the big lifetime goals you want to accomplish? What are the day to day things you need to do? What do you wanna do? What does an ideal day look like for you? What do you need to stop doing? So one of my goals is I'm building a course, especially for introverts, along the lines of embracing your introverted strengths, increasing your confidence, and having your voice heard. I've been working on it. but, you know, not nearly enough. And this is a huge goal of mine for this year. In order to achieve it, I've set aside some time regularly. to find focus. And to finish it, I know some imbalance as we discussed earlier, will be needed.

David Hall [00:08:40]:

So I made a plan of how I'm gonna accomplish this. And I'd had to decide what it would take each day and each week to accomplish my goal. I've set a timeline and determine when I want to be finished. Over and over, I've heard. that you need to carve out regular time to do the writing you need to do. And often, this is daily. What are your most significant goals? and what do you need to accomplish to them? As you're building this plan, keep your introverted needs in mind. You're a gifted thinker.

David Hall [00:09:17]:

You need time to clear your mind, prepare, reflect, think. Taking a little time to plan and prepare will help you focus on your project. and work more efficiently recognizing when you need to recharge and allowing yourself some quiet time to reflect inwardly. It's necessary to keep you sharp and energetic throughout your day. Understanding and taking care of your introverted needs, will allow your mind to function at its most effective and will become a powerful tool in your success. Remember to keep in mind you're gonna have setbacks. Things will change, and it's easy to become overwhelmed. A friend of mine has been stressed with the amount of work he has to do.

David Hall [00:10:04]:

He says these emails will never end. These deadlines are too tight. there's no way to get all my work done. Listening to him, starts stressing me out. However, I could say the same about my work. I also have an endless amount of work to do. And though I'm better organized and I work smarter than ever, I can't do it all. Nobody can.

David Hall [00:10:27]:

The difference is I've learned to change the messages and stories I tell myself. In Time Warrior, Steve Chandler says, when we imagine or perceive that we are overwhelmed by outside events or options or tough choices or situations, or ways of making money, etcetera. It is an illusion because the brain doesn't even function that way. Only a thought can produce a feeling of overwhelm. and quote, if you're feeling overwhelmed, what are the thoughts you're having? Can you change your thoughts? Like I said, sometimes I feel like I have an undoable amount of work and could easily be overwhelmed. But I choose to be realistic about the task before me, I could organize set goals, prioritize and reprioritize. But in the end, I can only do the at hand. So getting overwhelmed really only slows me down.

David Hall [00:11:24]:

But by changing the messages I sent to myself, spend less time being worried about what I can't get done and more time doing what I can. I still can't do everything. but I am much more successful when I choose not to be overwhelmed. As an introvert, or extrovert, you have some amazing gifts to share with the world, but you need to share your gifts and not try to do it all. Take the time to set goals. prioritize and repeat this often. There is so much we could do. So remember to focus on what is most important to you.

David Hall [00:12:04]:

Thank you so much for joining me. I look forward to connecting with reach out at david@quietestrong.com. Check out the website quietestrong.com. I'll add social media channels to the show notes. Send me topics or guests you'd like to see on the show. There's so many great things about being an introvert, and we need those to be understood. Get to know your introverted strengths and needs and be strong.