If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram you may have noticed that I’m in love with Jon Acuff’s book “Quitter: Closing The Gap Between Your Day Job And Your Dream Job.” In fact, I may be borderline obsessed with it and I want to share it with EVERYONE.
History dictates that I am an “all or nothing” kind of gal. When I start something new I go all in, dive in head first, put blinders on, and set the bar really high. For example, if I am desiring to release a few pounds and I haven’t worked out in a loooooong time, I start off with P90X. If I feel the need to up the visibility of my business, I set a goal to blog twice a day for a year.
See what I mean?
And, inevitably, I fall far short of my goal and then berate myself for not achieving it. All. Or. Nothing. This can lead to giving up before I even get started.
Then, I read this passage in Quitter: “If I miss a goal, which sometimes happens when you set huge ones, I want the reassurance that I did everything in my power to make it happen. I want the peace in knowing that it wasn’t for lack of hustling that I missed a target for my dream. I want to know that the one thing under my control was under control.”
I love this quote, except for the use of the word hustle, but that’s just semantics. The point is that if I know I did everything in my power to make my goal happen, I will rest easier even if I didn’t meet my lofty goal. Which leads me to my next point, have I done everything in my power to reach my goal?
Today, the answer is closer to YES. I’m setting a goal of releasing some extra weight. I’m setting a goal of getting more visibility for my business. And, today, I’m doing everything in my power to make that happen by taking control of the situation.
How?
I’m releasing myself of the expectation that it has to be all or nothing. I am focusing only on the goals I will accomplish today. And, I’m setting my alarm for 5am. See, Jon Acuff and several others have said, “There are no interruptions at 5am”, and boy are they right.
So this morning, I didn’t worry about whether I would wake up at 5am tomorrow or everyday next week. I popped a 30 minute walking video into my DVD player instead of P90X, and I’m writing this one post to help increase my visibility. Tomorrow, I will focus on tomorrow.
How will you get closer to achieving your dreams?
PS: Sometimes I think I set the bar too low. Will I ever finish all of P90X in the future if I only do walking videos today? I think I will because today I’m setting the foundation. Today, I’m getting a little bit stronger, a little bit more focused, and a little bit more disciplined. And, I’m also congratulating myself for finishing the goals I set out to accomplish today. I’d say that’s powerful!
