The brain’s innate nature keeps us safe, which is why we find convenience in our comfort zone. But lingering there for too long also means you are hindering, or even ignoring, many opportunities to grow. Darren CdeBaca invites everyone to seek out their full potential with two important acronyms: LIFT and DROP. He explains how going for a LIFT – Life Is A Transformation – is the sure way towards a better you, but only if you aim for bigger things. Otherwise, you are doomed to stay the way you are and DROP – Default Reaction Over Progress.
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LIFT or DROP
This is the beauty of DCB Strategies’ work is that I have the opportunity to share tools with you that gives you a choice, either that or this. It’s not complicated. It depends on your motivation, energy, persistence, passion. There’s a great saying, “If you have a small step in the right direction, you’re already headed towards achieving your goal.” We’re going to give you some tools that get you involved in taking those small steps in the right direction that build into your big goal. I am discussing one of my most favorite topics from way back. It’s called LIFT or DROP. Before I start, I want to share with you a phrase that defines the work at DCB Strategies. This phrase is this, “The best and average have nothing in common.”
When you take a look around your past experiences and your colleagues, sports friends, friends and hobbies at the club, walking group or workout group talk around town, social, professional sports, you know that there is a huge divide between the best in the rest. That’s the best and average. This phrase defines it all. What I’m going to share with you are these two acronyms, LIFT or DROP, are getting involved in the best mindset. It’s about using this acronym called LIFT. This phrase of being the best in average have nothing in common captivates the result of achieving bold goals with a plan of accountability and purpose.
Here we go. LIFT, or its antithesis, DROP. Have you ever thought of utilizing a brain tool called an acronym? That’s the letters in the word stand for a wonderful phrase that drives or reminds you. It cues your emotions and actions, what we call habits at DCB Strategies, towards your most desired outcomes, which we call results set for professional or personal growth. They give their best and purest sense of direction, LIFT or DROP. Why this go way back? The reason is this was introduced to me by one of my college pals, Jeff Kemp. He runs a wonderful business in terms of consulting at such a high level. It’s called FacingTheBlitz.com. Jeff also played with the 49ers, played in the NFL for four different teams. His dad was Jack Kemp.
He shared with me that his dad gave him an acronym called LIFT. It meant Life Is For Transformation. Isn’t that what it’s about? It’s not to sit still and not grow. We are humans, and it’s why our brains and bodies are ready to grow. This has been a big part of my life for such a long time, is to cue that acronym about obstacle illusions that come in your way, challenges, you’re tired, you got to go over the hurdles and you say lift. Lift or life is for transformation. Either one, it worked great. What we decided to do is put together a one-pager, which we call DCB Strategies One Page Uplifts, is to take us to another level to take it to the choice. Let’s take the antithesis of LIFT, which is DROP. If you can’t lift it, you’re going to drop it. DROP, at DCB Strategies, stands for Default Reaction Over Progress.
You default your reaction to a comfort zone over going after progress. I’m going to break it up a little bit and have some fun. Life Is For Transformation, LIFT. L stands for Life, the most powerful four-letter word. In the word LIFT, I stands for Is, the strong sense of now. If not now, when? The letter F in LIFT stands for For, direct action towards someone or something. T stands for Transformation. Transformation means development leading to change. It’s neat when I put that together. Years ago, I say, “This is fabulous. LIFT, Life Is For Transformation.” Let’s take the other side, DROP, the antithesis of lift. D stands for Default, which means revert to what is already in place.
In our life of humans, we have a choice. Comfort zone or get out of our comfort zone. It requires some effort on behalf of our brain. We’ll get to that. Default stands for reverting what is already in place, the comfort zone. The R stands for Reaction. A reaction is a reflex built by the past. Our current reactions are built from our past experiences, not our future expectations or our future strategy to put in new actions, to create new experiences. The letter O stands for Over. Over means, instead of the potentially better option, which is lift, which fits perfectly. P stands for Progress. That means advancing from a starting point.
I hope all of you on this show are seeking a simple word or reflective trigger that gets you to the deliberate side of your brain versus the default side of our brain. There were two halves of our brain, deliberate and default. Default is that comfort zone. On the surface of those two words, which one appeals to you the most? You’re so proactive. You took the effort to dial into this show. It’s going to be LIFT. You’re looking for these wonderful ideas, tools to carry on your day, week, month, to propel you into new habits.
Research shows us that LIFT itself triggers the deliberate side of our brain, the intentional side, the one that doesn’t mind climbing out of the comfort zone. It produces change and thus, growth because if you’re changing in forward progress, you are growing. On the other hand, DROP enforces, a little bit, the default side of our brain or the preset comfort zone, which as you and your own experience know, if you’re in your comfort zone, it denies new actions for real growth, thus, no transformation. Remember, LIFT is for Life Is For Transformation. If you’re on the default side, no transformation. If you’re at least teasing your deliberate side of your brain, this is exactly what we want to do. Let’s tease that side of the brain that doesn’t get used as frequently on average as a default side because we want to be in the best category to exercise the deliberate side.
I’ve witnessed many wonderful executives, sports individuals, family individuals, faith individuals, nonprofit individuals, the highest levels. They are constantly driving to such large goals because they’re under the deliberate side of the brain, the themes and cultures on the deliberate side of the brain. Using this word, LIFT, will accentuate your movement in the deliberate side of your brain. It will give you a fresh choice to move forward. Without question, this novel atmosphere as we’ve been accustomed to, has padded the comfort zone of many with various obstacle illusions. At DCB Strategies, that’s what we call them obstacle illusions. The majority of the obstacles in the framework of getting out of the comfort zone are illusions. It’s going to require effort to move on.
When you have this novel atmosphere patting the comfort zone, it avoids positive transformation. That’s a tremendous amount of growth. Do you recall the desired goal you had for your personal-professional growth direction? It is still in the back burner. You didn’t get to it yet. You completely passed on it because it challenged your comfort zone. It’s personal, but it challenged your comfort zone. “I desire to achieve that, but it’s so comfortable right here in my routine. I can’t find my routine. I’m mentally not ready. I need some more rest. I got so many emails to go after. I got distracted by this.” Comfort zone. You’re on the default side of your brain if you’ve experienced that. Is that wrong? No, it’s natural. The brain is designed to be safe and protect you. It will typically protect you in the protective mode on the default side. It only unleashes so much power when you trigger the deliberate side of your brain, whether it’s through LIFT, the acronym of Life Is For transformation, whether you want to get involved and stay in the DROP, which I don’t think you want to. This is one reason we’re here.
I run into the use of these two acronyms a lot. The reason why is because it’s about an achievement ratio. Let me give you an example. Think about this for a few and write down the past five goals, not tasks or to-dos, you set for yourself, professional or personal. If you achieved two in the predetermined timeframe you originally set up, that’d be a 40% achievement ratio, 2 of the 5. Completing 4 out of the 5 would be an 80% achievement ratio. Clearly, the higher ratio, the better for your ultimate growth and transformation. This is not about getting a high achievement ratio all the time. This is about initiating the engine, the deliberate side of your brain with the word LIFT and to avoid the default side, the comfort zone, DROP.
Let me share with you a little bit about triggering the deliberate side of your brain with LIFT. The trigger word is any word that compels a person to act in a progressive mode. When used effectively, trigger words will push you into the forefront of many new opportunities. Keep in mind, if everyone is using LIFT, that would be phenomenal. Everyone would not be afraid of transforming and creating new habits for their desired achievements, or at DCB Strategies, what we call bold goals. LIFT is a golden acronym. I hope you feel as strongly about it as I do. Let’s cover up the other side of the brand and make sure it gets do attention because it has ever since we’ve been alive, too often sometimes, recognizing your default brain with DROP. When you recognize the tendency to drop, be aware you are entering the default side of your brain, which is the cushy comfort zone. That will only hold you back from setting a new strategy for new habits and thus the new results you desire.
Go back to the last five goals that you set up for yourself. If you haven’t set up the last five goals as far as you can remember, then what a time to start and what a time to incorporate LIFT? I love everyone to have a high achievement ratio and bold goals for their own growth personally and professionally. The way it’s going to happen is if you self-talk yourself into LIFT. I’d ask you, build self-talk of the word, adopt the word LIFT into your daily self-talk. Talk to yourself. Remember, the person you listened to the most is yourself. You must feed it, the fuel, to get into the deliberate side of the brain. Repeat this to yourself, the word LIFT, 3 to 5 times a day. You will be intuitively partnered with your deliberate side of your brain, which is going to help you get some action steps and enforce new habits for your earned change and growth.
When your base drop in your daily opportunities, it’s going to be a reversion to reacting. It does not allow your proactive strategy to take on new necessary actions that you’ve earned and desire. I hope you enjoyed this segment. This is one of my favorites because it’s such a simple word to carry around in your mental pocket. LIFT, Life Is For Transformation. I, along with you, know that we are not interested in the antithesis of LIFT, which is DROP. We are here to fire up our deliberate side of our brain to get involved into the decide, commit, become trifecta of making sure that you develop new habits to get new results. I hope you enjoy this and took some great notes. If interested in learning more about our passion for coaching at DCB Strategies, go to the website DCBStrategies.com or contact me at Podcast@DCBStrategies.com. After this, you’re ready to decide on your bold goal, adopt, lift and embrace your achievements. Thank you. Stay healthy and passionate.
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