THE "A TO B PERSON"
SQUANDERING NOTHING IN BETWEEN


Everything in the universe occurs in a sequence of "steps".

If I have a sequence of going from where I am now (call it point A) to what I should do next (step B) in order to get the best results, then it makes sense that I would go straight from A to B.  It makes sense to ask "what is of the most benefit that I could do next?" and then just do that.

But...

Many people put lots of 'sidesteps" in between, so that in the time they could have done several B's (reaping of high value results), they've accomplished no B's at all, or fewer B's than they could have.

They resist.  They fool around.  They fear.  They seek "relief".  They tense up and need to deal with that.  They use old methods that don't work and waste time or at least don't work as well as well-thought-out alternatives.   These are all mental constructs they are wrestling with, for no real value at all!!!!   They create imaginary things (fears, discomforts, agitation, etc.) and then they spend time unravelling them or getting relief from them.  Does that make sense?  Or...


INSTEAD, DO THIS

The A to B person simply goes through his/her day doing this:

What's next?  Do it.
What's next?  Do it.
What's next?  Do it.

Or, in terms of our conversation here, they simply go:

A to B.
A to B.
A to B.

They end up with lots of B's.  Lot of value obtained.  Lots of life fully lived. 

There is no mental suffering allowed in this paradigm.  It's just A to B.

If there are "mental constructs" to deal with that becomes a project to work on with some planned "B"s (actions to gain results) being done on the way to curing the mental construct.


HOW CAN I STOP BEING THE "DO EVERYTHING ELSE" PERSON?

You can start with listing out what the "everything else"s that you sidestep into.  You can start writing out what you want instead, what is causing you to "have to" step off into something irrelevant. 

Your list would then be prioritized as to which of these asides would best be worked on 1st, then 2nd, etc., to gain the most benefit.

The headings would look like this:

Order (in which I will work on this; decided after you've filled out the list otherwise)

Imp (a rating of the impact it has on your life, which is often related to how often the particular thing occurs; use a rating system such as 1-10, 10 being highest, or the old tried and true system of A (highest), B, C, but be careful not to underrate a "small thing" that happens frequently as the impact can add to a substantial total)

Item (the item related to sidestepping; brainstorm these quickly in about 15 minutes and you'll capture most of them, for a good starting list) - At some point you may need to write down when something occurs and what occurs and what you were thinking at the time. 

Then schedule an exact time you will work on "curing" these.  Get help if you need it and are stuck on how to tackle something.  You would develop new coping strategies, such as breathing deeply 5 times to center oneself or a new "mantra" that one might repeat ("I will stick to what I said I would do, as this will turn out much better by the end of the day and I'll feel alot better" or "Peace, calm, pace myself.  It's all easy.")


EXAMPLES

I try to fit another thing into my time before getting to it and then I get distracted.

I'm afraid of feeling bad, as it might be "hard" to do, so I go do a distraction (watch a snippet of some video or play a computer game or accept the most convenient interruption).

I work on something not so hard.

I flake out.  (Write down when that occurs and what is going on at the time.)

I can't stand to do that thing because I get so anxious about what people will think of it or of me... 


SO, WHAT WHO WILL YOU BE?

Will you be an A to B person or a "wanderer"/"wonderer", wondering where all the time went and why your life is better or why you aren't stronger...?

Now is the time to choose.  Take the pledge (write out on a document to put into your LifePlan):  "I, ______, do hereby commit to being an A to B person.  I will not tolerate squandering my time between effective actions.  I choose to live only the best life."

And if you do choose, you will do the homework above and fit the "curing" time into your schedule as a definite to do (a direct B to jump to instantly).