How often do you begin an important task and then you suddenly find yourself standing in front of the coffee machine just five minutes later. Ask yourself, do you feel as though you are going nowhere fast. Instead of moving forward, it feels like you’re stagnating and could be doing so much more with your life is the amount of time you’re spending distracted amongst all the chaos and the drama far greater than the time you’re being productive.

In today’s episode, we are going to figure out why you may be distracted and I will share some simple ideas that you can use to manage your day.

In this episode

1:10 – Do you get distracted often?

2:15 – Take time out to release and reset

4:37 – Check in on your progress to stay focused

6:40 – Cultivate a disciplined mindset

9:38 – Take charge and develop purposeful habits

NEW CCM BOOK

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith is excited to announce the release of her new book “Singing Contemporary Commercial Music Styles: A Pedagogical Framework” published by Compton Publications UK. Marisa offers this book as a starting point and as CCM markets continue to evolve, she encourages that we, as a voice community, continue to evolve, debate and communally add to this framework.

JOIN MY COMMUNITY

YOUTUBE PLAYBACK

Visit the A Voice and Beyond Youtube channel to watch back the video replay of this guest interview or to see my welcome video.

Episode Transcription

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith  00:02

It’s Marisa Lee here and I’m so excited to be sharing today solo round episode with you. Whether you’re a member of the voice community, or beyond your voice is your unique gift. And my mission, which has been inspired by my own personal and professional journey is to empower you to share your gift with others. Now is the time for you to discover your voice in life, develop a positive mindset, and become the best and most authentic version of yourself to create greater impact. Ultimately, you can take charge, and you can become the director of your own life. It’s time for you to live your best live. It’s time now for A Voice and Beyond. So, without further ado, let’s go to today’s episode. 

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith  01:10

How often do you begin an important task and then you suddenly find yourself standing in front of the coffee machine just five minutes later. Ask yourself, do you feel as though you are going nowhere fast. Instead of moving forward, it feels like you’re stagnating and could be doing so much more with your life is the amount of time you’re spending distracted amongst all the chaos and the drama far greater than the time you’re being productive. You know, you have a choice. You can spend your valuable time forecasting and setting up your future for yourself, your family, your business and your career. In today’s episode, we are going to figure out why you may be distracted and I will share some simple ideas that you can use to manage your day.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith  02:15

When you feel stuck, or you find yourself distracted, take timeout to release the tension and set the intention. Okay, you can begin this by taking timeout and going for a walk. This is so basic. I know it sounds like you’re old fashioned type of wisdom but it actually works taking timeout can inspire tremendous amount of creativity and the highest level of achievements in all artists, musicians, composers, songwriters across every realm possible. The highest achievers tend to go for a walk when they’re stuck and they do it proactively. Your walk needs to be outside out in the fresh air getting those rays on you. And this will help you immensely when you’re stuck. Next time you feel stuck, immediately get up, leave and go for a walk and release the tension. When you come back, increase intention. Sit down, close your eyes and breathe. And if you want, you can try meditating. It can be a short, two minutes or maybe five minutes of breathing or meditations where you simply sink into your chair, close your eyes and try to release all the tension in your neck and your shoulders and your whole body. As soon as you get to that point where you feel like you have released most of that tension in your body, you can now start setting an intention or what it is you’re about to do. Now it’s time for you to open your eyes and go forward. And that’s what I mean by release the tension and set the intention. Next time you are in your teaching studio or sitting down at your desk and you want to be more creative, close your eyes, release the tension in your body and set the intention for the very next activity. If you learn to do this, every time your butt hits the chair, you will find that extraordinary level of energy and focus and creativity will come back in that moment. I promise you it’s really really powerful.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith  04:37

Goals require commitment and dedication. There’s no other way around it. Once you have defined both your long term and your short term goals. Your regular goal check in process is the perfect time to consider if the path you’re taking to accomplish your goals is still valid. And it’s Oh okay to make changes or modifications, as long as the support what you set out to do, you know, life changes, and so will your goals and your goals may need to grow up just as you experience personal growth. Putting this idea of checking in into practice can help you stay on track to achieve your goals and keep you focused. And you can’t expect yourself to work steadily toward a goal without any type of reward along the way. Not only is a bad for your morale, but it can diminish the power of the entire process. As you do your regular check ins take time to celebrate every success for every goal, no matter how big or small. As you plan your goals, attach a specific reward to each and this reward should be in alignment with the amount of work you have put into that goal. Take time to check in and acknowledge the fact that you have accomplished a goal. Don’t forget, it’s therapeutic to cross off items. Remember that time and the effort and the slog you invested save the feeling of completion and refresh and renew your enthusiasm before you continue. It will so help build your confidence and commitment and make it easier to keep pushing to reach those large scale future goals.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith  06:40

We need to make sure that you have cultivated a real discipline mindset that will move your needle forward. People who want to get fit, they have to be disciplined to work out every day or every other day. It’s vital for them. It’s a real discipline. So if you want mastery in any area of your life, if you want to be CEO of your life, you need to work at it constantly. Doing things once in a while is not good enough. Not only do you risk becoming someone who fasts around in life, but you are absolutely ensuring your inability to accomplish mastery, long term growth, success and achievement. I hate to say this, but discipline is a must. You don’t see any high level achieving person in any profession who does not have an extraordinary amount of self discipline, they are absolutely committed to their habits and practices that positively support them on their path to their desires. So sit down tonight, and identify what disciplines you need to set in your life. The ones that you need to do consistently every day in order to achieve the greatness you so desire. That’s where a lot of achievement comes from, it may seem easy, and you might look at others who are successful and think to yourself, they’re so lucky. I don’t believe in luck. Life doesn’t work like that. You make your own way in life. And there is a price to be paid for that. What people don’t realise is that successful people continue working at their dreams, goals, aspirations every day. They are students of life and work on self improvement, we simply just don’t see their failures. This sounds like a lot yet again. But don’t let it put you off and think of discipline as a negative thing. Don’t think of it as something that’s overwhelming. The way I look at discipline is that it’s the joyful habit of pursuing your dreams. And that’s why I’ve gotten good at the things that I care about and I desire of life. And that is the same in the things in my personal life. I’ve had to learn to become more present at home, at work and in my relationships. I have to set alarm triggers throughout the day as a reminder, it’s a constant challenge and discipline for me to remind myself to be present, to be more engaged to be more connected and to be in the moment. It is a discipline to be a good human being to be kind to yourself before you can be kind to others. So even in the realm of human relationships, you have to have discipline.

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith  09:58

Take Charge be remarkable become that someone who is redefining their lives, who’s empowering other people and spreading positivity. You can start today by finding what you truly desire. You need to stop getting distracted and develop purposeful habits to grow your mind to refine your motivation to keep yourself on the path you desire in life. Choose to stay disciplined on your journey to your CEO life and not be distracted by anyone or anything other than what is going to support you along the way to success. This is your moment to become the CEO of your life. 

Dr Marisa Lee Naismith  10:49

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of voice and beyond. I hope you enjoyed it as now is an important time for you to invest in your own self care, personal growth and education. Use every day as an opportunity to learn and to grow so you can show up feeling empowered and ready to live your best life. If you know someone who will also be inspired by this episode, please be sure to copy and paste the link and share it with them. Or share it on social media and use the hashtag a voice and beyond. I promise you I am committed to bringing you more inspiration and conversations just like this one every week. And if you would like to help me please rate and review this podcast and cheer me on by clicking the subscribe button on Apple podcast right now. I would also love to know what it is that you most enjoyed about this episode and what was your biggest takeaway? Please take care and I look forward to your company next time on the next episode have a voice and beyond

Are you ready to discover your voice in life, develop a positive mindset and become the best and most authentic version of yourself?

Receive a free copy of ‘In Perfect Harmony’ a practical guide to meditation.