Dear Naysayers: You can’t make chess-like moves with a checkers-like mind

Another day to do something unique. Another day to not wait for a miracle, but to be the miracle.You have mentally rehearsed your agenda for the day. Maybe you have a huge million dollar deal to close. Maybe there is a deadline you have to meet by the close of business. Or you procrastinated all last week until now your workload has piled up. But you’re ready to tackle the tasks at hand. You’re on the verge of releasing a new book or unveiling a new initiative in your company.

You look in the mirror and say “Man, I am great”.

No matter how large the problems may seem, you’re focused. You’re confident. You know it can be done today.

Then it happens.

A naysayer from inside or outside of you creeps in to impact your excitement. From within, the naysayer comes in the form of fear, doubt and even low self-esteem. Outside it could be a negative text message, a draining email, gossiping conversation or a phone call with so-called constructive criticism. All of a sudden you become stagnate. Your energy is diminished. Your fire has went out and you haven’t even left your house yet.

What happened? The naysayers got the best of you.

But today you choose to ignore the naysayers because you’re operating on another level. You’re playing chess while the naysayer is still playing checkers. Your thoughts are not the same. Your moves are not the same. Your objectives are not the same. The boards may look the same but tactics and strategies are different. It’s chess not checkers to some of us.