“Do not measure your life by your goals but what you are actually doing to achieve them.”
– Peter Drucker

“The ultimate goal of life is death — the experience of life is where the value is, not the results we achieve.”
– Anonymous

When people refer to productiveness, they usually refer to “busy-ness.” Positive productivity, on the other hand, is the result of doing what’s important and will hinge greatly on how well you adhere to this process of alignment. Alignment can also help you to discover not only what you need to do but also provide you with shortcuts as well.

Recognizing your intrinsic values will most likely aid you in finding better ways to reach your goals and greater results that you can produce along the way. When you translate your values into actions, many alternatives and opportunities will naturally jump out at you. While they were always there to begin with, alignment merely makes them more visible to you.

The difference between the production of results and the completion of tasks is in most cases a very subtle one. When I ignored my core values, I eventually became stressed out, less productive, disorganized, busier, and irritated.

Lacking motivation, I tried to find and felt compelled to use encouragement or inspiration from other sources. However, the most important downfall was that I had generated a great deal of distress on the people around me, especially those who were central to my life.

I certainly made myself busier and more efficient, but I wasn’t truly productive. Sometimes, I procrastinated doing what was important and even ignored some of my priorities because I was not internally driven. I said to myself, “I have to do this?” or “I have to do that?” I was frustrated even at the onset.

However, when I found out what was important in my life and worked in reverse, I was naturally enthusiastic, produced better results, had greater satisfaction with the littlest of results, and had a deeper understanding of what was required from me. I also faced challenges with greater ease and patience. Solutions came to me in an instant. My quality of life soared. And the people in my life encouraged and supported me.

Working in reverse in indeed the key to effectiveness and success. As one of Dr. Stephen Covey’s habits, in his truly exceptional book The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, the idea is to “begin with the end in mind” or to plan your way on backwards, from the final result to where you are now.

You see, the dynamics of success are not a matter of talents, skills, or attitudes but a matter of priorities. Arm yourself with the knowledge of yours in all you do and you will, directly or indirectly, make the best choices for your life and do so with greater inner peace. Making the right choices is the active outcome of consistently focusing on your true priorities.

The Law of Correspondence says that your outer self corresponds to your inner self, or that the outside is but a mirror reflection of the inside. Therefore, when you work in correspondence with your true priorities, it will produce enough self-motivation to empower you to act on those desires. Simply, your actions will be — as it should be — a mirror reflection of how you feel deep inside. As a result, you will be congruent and lead a balanced life.

When people look for outside stimulation or encouragement, whether it’s from pep rallies or drugs, it’s because they do not appreciate what they must do in order to reach their goals. This is the misalignment I discussed earlier. It happens when there is the lack of a clear purpose.

For instance, if people get pumped up on the outside, their inner selves will eventually find ways to downplay that external motivation. It’s really a fake sense of enthusiasm. They may appear excited and enthusiastic, but some say that people who appear too happy or excited are phonies. I’m not saying this is true all the time but it is certainly true when the motivation or the reason for their excitement does not come from deep within.

About the Author

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker, consultant, and CEO of The Success Doctor, Inc. Visit his blog and signup free to get tested conversion strategies and response-boosting tips by email, along with blog updates, news, and more! Go now to http://www.michelfortin.com.

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