Seeing Clearly with Blinders On

I was cleaning up my out of control inbox in my quest for inbox zero (is that really a thing?), when I came across a gem from Amy Porterfield. It caught my attention immediately because it had a photo from one of my favorite movies, Seabiscuit. So, of course, I had to stop and read it! #becauseseabiscuit

And I’m glad I did. Because it spurred me into taking a specific action in one minute that I’d been dreading for months. And the avoidance of it was beginning to create some serious anxiety in my life.

So, what was it that lit a fire under my ass to take said dreaded action?

BLINDERS! Putting blinders on.

Sounds a bit counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Most of the time people see having blinders on as a bad thing. If you have blinders on, how can you see much of anything?

Well, as Amy pointed out in her email, horses often wear blinders during races – and for good reason. Blinders keep the distractions at bay so the horse can keep his eyes on what’s in front of him (the finish line.

And like Seabiscuit, I have my own finish line to keep my eyes on – building my business! But unlike him, I tossed mine by the wayside.

Over the past several years, I’ve taken on random freelance jobs to make ends meet. And they’ve been AMAZING. I’ve gained skills I couldn’t have learned in a better way.

But these jobs had also become distractions. Especially with my bold 2019 New Year’s proclamation to focus on ME and MY business…above all else.

PFFFFT! Be careful when making such statements. Circumstances will arise to challenge your resolve, as if taunting you with, “Are you suuuuure you’re ready to commit?”

The proverbial carrots kept getting dangled in front of me. And I kept biting. Knowing the action I needed to take did not inspire me to do it. Yet the pressure was mounting and it was about to take me right out of the race.

And that’s when Amy’s email happened. As I was reading about her own AHA “blinders” moment, I became painfully aware of how fed up I was with my inaction. I finally hit threshold – the moment when the discomfort of staying the same becomes greater than the discomfort of changing – and did what I needed to do.

I PUT THE BLINDERS BACK ON! I literally quit the distractions! I sent messages to the people I needed to communicate with, letting them know that it was time for me to move on.

I realized I put myself in this position and that I was the only one who could change it. I’d became fearful of letting people down and losing out on that income. Total lack mentality. But thank goodness for the wake up call.

Putting the blinders back on has given me the clarity I was craving. Like writing this post. Which I’ve been meaning to do since before January 1. Well, it wasn’t this content. I didn’t know what to write. But as soon as I took the action, aligning with my values once again, inspiration cracked her whip and now you’re reading this post. My first ever business blog post!

By putting the blinders back on, I’ve reoriented on the finish line and have been making progress in the right direction since. One foot in front of the other. 

Funny how that works, isn’t it?

And THAT is how you see clearly with blinders on.

I’d love to hear from you. In what area of your life will you benefit the most by putting the blinders on? What is waiting for you at your finish line? Let me know in the comments below!