Most everyone understands that living life is never an easy undertaking. There are bumps and bruises that accompany the smiles and good times that are experienced. Therefore it is important that we have the utmost focus on life’s demands so that we might navigate our life’s journey as successfully as possible. 

Experience has provided some common nemeses that too often challenge our navigational abilities. These “gremlins” are constantly attacking our minds and spirit and often seem to thrust themselves upon us at the most inopportune times. Most often these varmints are catabolic in nature. That simply means they bring forth negative or even catastrophic results.  

The ultimate goal is to experience in life as many anabolic or positive realities as possible. When the good outweighs the bad, you are then positioned to secure greater joy and satisfaction in life. 

During my tenure as a professional leadership coach and executive advisor, I have found there to be six common gremlins that can sidetrack your goals, your quest for success, and your desire to have a productive, satisfying life. While there may be others that are not specifically detailed in this list, these six are key to the challenges that everyone will face at some time. Conquering them may not totally eliminate life’s problems, but it will enable you to better navigate what life has to offer. 

Our first gremlin is a negative mindset. Attitude has always been a cornerstone of success and satisfaction in every discussion on happiness, fulfillment, and the seeking of life’s best options. It is discussed in numerous books, articles, and literally thousands of podcasts and seminars.  Motivational speakers announce its importance and attempt to engage audiences toward greater achievement by embodying its principles.  Despite all this effort and the establishment of its truth, a negative mindset continues to do more harm to the human mind and effort than a multitude of pandemics. 

It’s so damaging because at times it becomes a devastating silent enemy.  When failure arises, as it often does, and when things begin to turn sour, as they often do, the feeling that the world is against you springs forward.  A negative mindset looks for those times of weakness. That is its mantra. When we lose patience, and that irresistible impact of positive thinking that we gained from recent study or lecture begins to fade away, it has us right where it wants us. We begin to point fingers and do our very best to squirm out of the problems we find. Before we realize it, that negative mindset has become our master. 

We regularly get what we think about. How we look at things eventually becomes our reality. It is not so much what actually happened but more directly our perception of what happened. That perspective guides our actions and thus when it is centered on negativity, it can become an immovable force. As the old saying proclaims, “Some people see the positives in every situation, while others go through life seeking their induction into the negative attitude hall of fame. It’s all a matter of perspective.”   

Therefore you must somehow strive to find “the sunny side of life.” You have to remember that with a positive focus, you can turn what is currently negative into valid lessons learned versus allowing those current issues to digress into forming a negative mindset. Will that be easy? It depends. It depends on what you allow your mind to bring forth as a valid reality.  Remember, you most often get exactly what you think about. Be strong. Be committed. Remember the words of Tom Flores, “A total commitment is paramount to reaching the ultimate in performance.” 

Next comes the gremlin of poor self-image. Doris Mortman said, “Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.” That is so true. How we see ourselves, accepting strengths and weaknesses, goes a long way toward our being able to stand firm in the face of adversity as well as on the stage of victory. When we allow ourselves to fall into the trap of seeing ourselves as less than who we are, we play right into the hands of this destructive gremlin. 

It is somewhat of a common certainty that all of us have at times done things that did not put us in the best of views with others. Realizing that we too often lash out at ourselves for being less than what we should be in these circumstances, the result is terrible personal psychological damage.  Our mind believes everything that it hears. Therefore when our self-image is poor it will impact everything we do, say or think in a very adverse manner. This in turn leads to unnecessary stress. 

Even at your worst, you are much better than the gremlin of poor self-image wants you to believe. You are a one-of-a-kind being. You are unique in your makeup and built for excellence in your endeavors. That is why a strong self-image is the critical ingredient that prepares you for your quest toward success in life. Allowing the gremlin of poor self-image to steal your dreams conveys that you are not good enough. This jeopardizes the true essence of those qualities that make you who you are in life. 

Poor self-image provides no value for you. That reality will not navigate you to a level of functional success. It is perhaps well explained this way by Alexander Dumas, “A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself. He makes his failure certain by himself being the first person to be convicted of it.”  

You must be important to yourself. What you say and feel about yourself matters more than what others may convey. So, find out who you are.  Build upon the good. Overcome the poorly represented and know that within yourself lies the solution to your success. 

Third, comes the gremlin known as laziness. Besides being a Biblical sin, laziness is a pathway to absolute failure. It deceptively comes into play by obscuring the truth and misleading you into a false sense of acceptance.  Not that a small amount of indolence is not acceptable from time to time, but when it consumes the mind, body, and spirit to a point that it places us in as Sir Thomas Buxton proclaims, “…chains versus cobwebs…” problems arise. It will destroy ambition, sidetrack action-oriented thinking, and virtually eliminate constructive work disciplines. 

Looking at laziness from a broader perspective, it is truly a habit; an unnecessary habit that becomes its own excuse for failure. It embodies daydreaming where no results are produced. Its impact is much like cooking a frog. You can’t throw a frog into boiling water. If you were to try, it would jump out of the pot. You have to place the frog into warm water and then slowly turn up the temperature. Before the frog can realize what is happening, it is cooked. That is laziness in its most direct form. It sucks the very essence of desire away from the most earnest individuals.   

Laziness also weakens the mind. It does so because it propels its victims into seeking handouts versus putting forth the effort to be self-sufficient. The feeling is why should one stain their hands with the dirt of toil when there are others that might do what they are seeking? The excuse, “I’ll get around to getting that done in the next day or so,” becomes commonplace. Before you know it, weeks, months, or a lifetime has passed. As James Kelly said, “The slothful man is the beggar’s brother.” 

When you find yourself attacked by this gremlin it is time to act, not take an ostrich approach of “sticking your head in the sand.” Find some task, no matter how small, to energize yourself and regain your will and desire to accomplish a goal. It could be as simple as taking out the trash or washing the car. These small steps enable you to add on additional actions, and soon you will find that you are making more eventful efforts.   

There is nothing wrong with “getting dirt under your fingernails”. In fact, that could be a badge of honor especially to those who have been indentured for too long a period of time to this gremlin. E.R. Collard said it best, “A man with nothing to do does far more strenuous labor than any other form of work. To be forced to be idle is terribly difficult and even a small proportion of your day is wasted is worse than working many hours overtime. But my greatest pity is for the man who dodges a job he knows he should do. He is a shirker; and boy! what punishment he takes…from himself.”  

Take pride in yourself and do not allow laziness to steal your ability to become all that you can be. When you find joy in your work you will never truly work another day. And, when you are willing to work, you will always do well. Set aside laziness, get to work, and discover the potential that lies within your grasp. 

Fourth, we are faced with the gremlin of disorganization. Looking in the dictionary, you will find that this gremlin is defined as a “lack of proper planning and control.” Planning is one of the key ingredients leading to success in life. It keeps you going in the right direction. It demands organization and gives you a reason to do what you truly want to do.  When you fall short in this fundamental focus, it sidetracks your well-being and can place you on the short road to nowhere. 

Disorganization is a product of an undisciplined mindset. When under its spell, you simply act without forethought or insight. While a certain amount of unstructured interaction may produce a momentary “adrenaline rush,” it too often leaves the holder with uncertainty and a stress-filled aftertaste.  You wonder what made you do it but somehow you feel it was the natural thing to do. So your thoughts, or lack of thought, control the outcome to a large extent. Your actions will determine to a large extent, who you are or will become. 

Long-term disorganization leads to  

• goals falling short,  
• deadlines overlooked,  
• work abandoned,  
• appointments forgotten,  
• promises unfulfilled,  
• frustration being rampant, and  
• disappointment surrounding the culprit as well as those who depend upon that person for comfort or support.  

It is much like showing up to go mountain climbing in a Brooks Brothers suit and wingtip shoes. You may look good but you are never going to reach the mountain peak without the proper clothing and equipment. 

Control of this gremlin will require skill and determined discipline. Discipline to act for a specific need and skill to better enable oneself to overcome challenges along the way. The reason for such requirements is simply to overcome the fact that it is so easy to live your life in a mess because it eliminates most responsibilities. You just exist. While that may be restful and satisfying for a few days, it is no way to live a life. Life is meant to be lived with purpose and with a foundation of order in your life the pathway becomes clearer and the ending plateau more easily attainable. 

While you do not have to plan every minute of every day and you do not have to ensure that every action taken is scripted, it is critical that you place your life and its environment in a more structured setting so that you are better positioned to excel at cutting through confusion. Displaying an organized approach to life and profession enables one to achieve greater results. You then build expertise, which helps you overcome the disorganization gremlin’s power and influence. This leads to a systematic approach in virtually every avenue of life and helps you to meet the unexpected with a positive outlook. So seize your opportunity. Take affirmative action to meet your organizational responsibility and master the disorganization gremlin forever. 

The fifth gremlin is lack of focus. Being steadfast in an effort is vital to long-term success. Focus is comprised of foresight, insight, dreams, and quality judgment all directed toward a desired result. It is also being able to set aside fear and maintain an all-out effort in the direction you feel provides the most favorable opportunity. If you cannot focus, you cannot win. 

Lack of focus has a strong ally, distraction. Distraction is simply something that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else. There are many distractions that come into play during various sequences in the game of life. The distractions can be fun-natured as well as ill-fated. They will set upon an individual quite often without warning but with great impact. That is why it is so very important to hold oneself accountable to complete tasks that lay before you.   

You may find yourself working well on a project that is quickly coming due.  You are truly focused on seeing the conclusion to your effort because you understand how important it is to your division’s success. Suddenly, a phone call comes with an invitation to play a round of golf on a course that you have desired to visit but have been unable to. The key part is that the round is free and comes with a promise of a nice dinner at an exclusive restaurant. It becomes a paradox. You know you must finish but yet, you really want to play that round of golf. You think about all the hard work you have been doing and marginalize in your mind the deadline that faces you.  What’s the harm in taking a break and playing a world-class golf course and for free? What better way to top off that experience than with a gourmet meal? You tell yourself that you can easily pick up where you leave off and the break will do you good. So, off you go. Distractions happen. Focus can be lost. There are literally thousands of such focus-destroyers waiting for you to make the fatal mistake. That is why it is so very important to discipline yourself to think before you act. There is a time and place for all events. 

Thomas Edison could not have uncovered the electric light process if he had succumbed to the ten thousand distractions disguised as failures he encountered. Abraham Lincoln had multiple distractions to divert his focus but held steady. His steadfast focus eventually gained him the presidency of the United States. Fred Smith’s idea about FedEX during his college years could have gone by the wayside if he had listened to his college professor’s input that his plans and thoughts were absurd. He maintained his focus and created a worldwide delivery empire.  

Maintaining your focus means aligning your mind and will to, as Edward Deci once said, “…believe that a task is inherently worthwhile…”.  When you maintain your focus and set aside distractions, you will be entrenched in the effort to give your very best all the time. That is what makes winning a reality. 

Our sixth and final gremlin is a really tough challenger. It is ageless and makes reality seemingly become anything that the holder desires. It is faceless yet convincing. This gremlin is known as ego. There are countless illustrations of ego both destructive and in some cases beneficial. But for the most part, ego most often leads you on a road to nowhere. As Brian Wolfe said, “No one has learned the meaning of life until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow men.”  An uncontrolled ego, which always contradicts absolute truth, will become a no-win, long-term result despite mental and physical attempts to alter all facts. That is what makes this gremlin so dangerous and adverse to living and experiencing a productive life. 

The individual with a high ego produces an aura that transcends any spirit of fairness, openness, and mutual benefit. The focus is directed to the ego holder and every move, word, or thought is done in such a manner that will place its owner in a position to direct all eyes and ears solely upon the owner. There is nothing wrong with having great confidence in oneself, but when that confidence grows to a state of “oneness”, it then becomes a problem for all.   

Dillard was a hard-charging young executive in the marketing department of a Fortune 500 company. A recent graduate of a prestigious university, he had worked hard to finish his college career in the top three percent of his class. That result made him an attractive recruit for the company. He had received high praise for his academic achievement and was excited to be on-boarded. 

Things began great for him. He interjected some great ideas and workable solutions and quickly gained praise from senior leadership. With each word of confirmation, Dillard began to gain confidence and security in his role. So much so that he began to see himself as the “department go-to person.” He began to assert himself in actions that were not in his sphere of responsibility and scoffed at others’ insights and suggestions in various meetings. He always felt his ideas were best.   

Soon, his overt actions and high opinions hit a breaking point as too many of his fellow department colleagues and even his immediate leadership felt his presence was a detriment to the department. Even his mentor could not get him under control as he felt the mentor’s ideas were not part of the new world of business. He could not admit being wrong and felt his position and insights were just what the department needed.   

While his ideas and solutions did bring about valid results for the department, his ego was just too much for the outcomes to offset. Though he did validate many positive outcomes, the company dismissed him from his role because of the adverse working environment he had created. Ego, that great destructive gremlin, had taken control of Dillard’s life and professional environment and resulted in Dillard losing a promising positional opportunity. 

The old adage that success can spoil an individual was indeed in play with Dillard. He allowed the infectious accolades of his success to infect sound reasoning and fundamental cooperation. Whenever that occurs in any environment, the outcome will not be good. You must be strong enough in your present reality to take compliments and success in stride knowing that you are never as good as you think you are but never as bad as you sometimes may feel you are. It is a balancing act that really demands close attention and very strong personal control of yourself mentally and physically. As Joseph Fort Newton said, “An egotist is not a man who thinks too much of himself; he is a man who thinks too little of other people.” Control yourself, control your opinion of yourself, don’t listen to all the fanfare but do what’s right and you will never have worries of being foolish. You will then not have to worry that ego will dominate your life.   

So then, what exactly is a productive life? The answer to that question is somewhat different for individual people. But for the most part, it is comprised of the following things: 

• Being able to live life to the fullest each day with a high level of joy. 
• Being able to hold tightly to your faith in the face of criticism. 
• Being a person of inspiration not perspiration to others. 
• Being able to have peace with yourself. 
• Having no regrets for past actions by knowing you are forgiven. 
• Influencing someone’s world in a positive manner by your existence. 
• Being focused on what is important and getting the right job done right. 
• Acting in a positive manner in all your approaches. 
• Being engaged and organized in your work.  
• Having excellent self-image. 
• Not allowing ego to command and drive your life. 
• Understanding that peace and happiness are personal choices. 

While you may find that there are other parameters that direct your life and your focus on being productive, these simple illustrations should provide you with a better understanding as well as help you realize how the six gremlins we explored can play havoc in your quest to fulfill your dreams and make your life all it can be. 

Stand strong and do your utmost to successfully defend the life you seek and deserve from these destructive actors.  

• They will test you at virtually every turn in your life.  
• They will do everything in their power to put stumbling blocks in your path.  
• They will mock you, bruise you and belittle you.  

But, if you will smile in the face of their attacks and continue to do the right things in the right way despite the perils that surround you, you will indeed be able to live a productive life. There is an old German adage, “You have to take life as it happens, but you should try to make it happen the way you want to take it.”  As William Hazlitt said, “The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure much.”