#WakeUpWednesday Basic Daily Habits Ultimately Determine Greatness
“Successful people do whatever it takes to get the job done, whether or not they feel like it.”
― Jeff Olson
Have you ever created a workout routine plan and then actually did it? And I mean really went for it: did the fitness class 4 days a week, ran a few miles a day, did 100 crunches before bed... What happened? You got in shape, right? You became healthy and fit; the action produced a result.
So you took the daily action and the results followed, and then what happened? You got busy, you ”developed” that extra five pounds of “frosting” again. What changed? Surely not your diet, right? Oh wait, did you stop going to the gym? Did a 7am snooze button override the sweat session you had planned? Of course it did! You stop going and the results are soon to go away leaving you wondering “what happened?!” and you wait until January 1st to start over.
This epidemic of a roller coaster ride is woven into the fabric of many parts of our lives. I know it is easy to relate to the gym analogy because that is so familiar this time of year. But what about your career? In your day to day life, what little actions, routines and things did you put into a plan, start doing, and then stop, leaving yourself wondering, "What happened? Where did my results go?"
In the book The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, he talks about this epidemic of action and consistency. He talks about the oscillation between things going well and things not going so well and that ultimately, the big difference is in our daily actions and choices. Your “big problem” started with one small choice. Your five new pounds of weight gain did not happen overnight, it started happening the first day you decided to forgo your workout, and the next three, and then the habit became a new habit; not going to the gym.
And some more shocking news: your ship’s not coming—it’s already here. Docked and waiting. You already have the money. You already have the time. You already have the skill, the confidence. You already have everything you need to achieve everything you want.”
― Jeff Olson
Each one of us possesses the skills to do exactly what it is we have set out to do. We all have the ability to demonstrate daily habits that add up to completing big goals, so why doesn’t everyone hit their goals and succeed? Jeff explains that it is because we stop doing the small things everyday that took us from failure to good, that we don’t keep reaching success. Instead, we regress to things not going well again and have to start over. For me, the focus recently has been on what Jeff talks about, keeping my focus on the small daily actions and less on the outcome. Know your goals, be clear on where you are going, and then get to work and don’t stop. It’s when we (I) stop and do not maintain the daily actions that we begin to lose momentum and regress.
Moral of the story: Do not throw in the towel on small action steps each day: your morning routine, 20 minutes of cardio, 10 pages of a good book. Do not stop. And once you arrive at the goal, still don’t stop; there is no arrival. Instead, create a sustainable routines that can go the distance. This whole deal is a marathon, not a sprint.
Lindsey Rainwater is a consultant and coach to the fitness and wellness industry. She specializes in business development and leadership. Currently she is working with the Fitmarc Team helping Health Club owners all over the south central region of the united states propel their business forward via group exercise solutions. For more information about Lindsey, follow her @lindseyrainh2o, all content posted at www.lindseyrainh2o.com