Learn from the Past, Plan for the Future, Enjoy Today

Many of us today suffer from lack of motivation and a cloudy sense of the future. We are often less focused than we should be. We can feel under constant pressure, feel undervalued and feel that life is a constant struggle to meet targets and time lines. However, it’s important to know you are not alone, we all face obstacles in life, but it is how you deal with those obstacles that defines you and determines how successful you are in life.

Improved focus and effectiveness comes with knowing and playing to your strengths. Focus brings clarity and drives the will to succeed. There is truth in the old adage ‘Where there is a will there is a way’.

Even with an improved sense of direction, there will always be multiple tasks looking for your attention. For example, modern technology, tools that are there to make us more efficient and in control, have lead us to being slaves to technology. They can play on our anxieties and insecurities and leave us much more bound to work than we used to be. It is imperative to set boundaries to ensure we’re not ‘always on’.

So how do we cope? The following are some useful tips that I have used to help take some level of control and in a positive way, drive on a continuous basis to keep a perspective on things.

These are not in any way life changing but are there to help rebalance our minds as we try to cope in “This Crazy world”. My mantra in life is;

Joe Robbins (Director, CareerWise Recruitment)

“Learn from the Past, Plan for the Future, Enjoy Today”

• Adopt an attitude of calmness and of open-mindedness – Such an attitude would make it easier for you to see new opportunities, conceive new ideas, focus on goals, and see things from a different point of view.
• Be willing to leave your comfort zone – The greatest barrier to achieving your potential is your comfort zone. Great things happen when you make friends with your discomfort zone.
• Start simple – Keep motivators around your work area – things that give you that initial spark to get going.
• Keep good company – Make more regular encounters with positive and motivated people. This could be as simple as chats with peers or a quick discussion with a friend who likes sharing ideas.
• Stay Positive – See the good in bad. When encountering obstacles, you want to be in the habit of finding what works to get over them.
• Help others – Share your ideas and help friends get motivated. Seeing others do well will motivate you to do the same.
• What you do every day will turn into a habit – Choose habits that will lead you to success and repeat them every day. In time, they will become automatic, not requiring thought, attention or effort. There are many new habits you can adopt, such as positive thinking, being on time, being more considerate, getting a stronger willpower or staying calm in difficult situations.
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – Wisdom helps us avoid making mistakes and comes from making a million of them.
• Don’t indulge in self-limiting thinking – Think empowering, expansive thoughts.
• Choose to be happy – Happy people are easily motivated. Happiness is your birth right so don’t settle for anything else.
• Spend at least one hour a day in self-development – Read good books or listen to inspiring music etc. Driving to and from work provides an excellent opportunity to listen to self-improvement tapes.
• Train yourself to finish what you start – So many of us become scattered as we try to accomplish a task. Finish one task before you begin another.
• Live fully in the present moment – When you live in the past or the future you aren’t able to make things happen in the present. Never quit when you experience a setback or frustration. Success could be just around the corner.
• Dare to dream big dreams – If there is anything to the law of expectation then we are moving in the direction of our dreams, goals and expectations.

You’re worth the investment

The real tragedy in life is not in how much we suffer, but rather in how much we miss. So my advice is “don’t miss a thing“. Get positive results from positive thinking and taking positive action.

Rather than wait for good things to happen, get out there and make them happen. You may not always achieve your objective, but you will experience a richer and more rewarding life when you are committed to pursuing your own objectives.

Invest in yourself so that you can manage yourself effectively, regardless of what life might bring your way.

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going” – Jim Ryun

 “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek” – Mario Andretti

Joe Robbins

(Director) BBS (Hons), MBPICS – Shannon Office

Joe Robbins is co-founder of CareerWise Recruitment. A graduate of the University of Limerick (Degree in Business Studies, 1985), Joe worked in the UK for five years where he specialised in materials management, production management and plant management for a number of companies.

He returned to Ireland in 1992 to become Operations Manager for a Cork-based start-up, FMC Automotive Division which was subsequently taken over by Snap-on Equipment. Joe managed the business re-location of this company to Shannon in 1997 before setting up CareerWise Recruitment in 1999.

He is a committee member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Mid-West region, and a former Director and Vice President of the Shannon Chamber of Commerce. Joe is former Chairperson of the Sixmilebridge Camogie Club and current Chairperson of the Clare County Camogie Board.

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