Without action, nothing happens. It's why I do one thing
each day to take me closer to my goal.
I’m not sure if you’re like me, but for many years, I had lofty goals that never materialised.
These were ambitions that were deeply personal to me.
From ideas and passions to dreams and aspirations, for decades they stayed cooped up in my mind.
Things I wanted to create, build or simply have a shot at.
They next thing I knew time had flown by and I’d made absolutely no progress on the items in my bucket list.
Instead, I’d been consumed by years of inactivity, complacency and procrastination.
Good intentions and new year resolutions to get the wheels turning went down in flames as life’s distractions took over.
And, it’s not because I didn’t have the skills or talent.
It’s merely I allowed the days, weeks and years to pass without making any progress.
Frankly put, I had become my own limits.
Getting Unstuck
Although anyone can work at and go after their goals, the reality is not everyone will.
There’s a differentiation between daydreamers and doers.
Doers start and keep going. Dreamers postpone and find excuses.
I hate to admit it, but I’d become the latter and disliked myself for it.
I knew something had to change. That somehow, I’d have to act myself out of it.
I’d have to take action to become unstuck.
Even worse, I didn’t feel quite ready.
Running to the Next Corner
It was around this time I stumbled across the idea of marginal gains.
A friend who is an ultra-endurance athlete put it in perspective for me.
He said when he competes in a 50KM run, he never runs to the finishing line.
Instead, he puts all his effort in getting to the next corner.
I really don’t know why I hadn’t grasped this earlier as it makes sense.
Just look at people who attain meaningful success in life.
First, they do stuff they believe in.
Second, they take micro-steps every day towards getting what they want.
Small Wins Every Day
Given this gradual progression approach works for others, I decided to try it out myself.
As I did, it became more obvious to me how high performance people succeed.
In a quest to reach the finish line, they build daily progress into their routines.
To be blunt, they daily behaviour is intentional.
Each day, they complete a manageable task that inches them closer.
Sometimes they are obsessive in their pursuit.
Often it’s habitual.
Rewiring My Brain
The kicker was I wanted to be as productive as these high achievers.
But then it dawned in me…to do so I’d have to train my behaviour.
At this stage, I wasn’t young anymore.
There’s an awareness that comes when you’re older.
The harsh reality is you don’t want to run out of time before you tick everything off your bucket list.
The turning point was when I began changing my actions to be more deliberate.
Here’s my moves.
Each day, I set an easy mini-milestone. The hope was this intent would propel me into action.
To get the ball rolling, I then built time into my day-to-day schedule to achieve these little victories.
In fact, I made these targets my daily mission and the first thing I did when I got up.
Above all else, I kept going and never gave up.
No Sugar Coating. It Takes Practice.
The good news is getting quick wins under my belt kept me moving.
Turns out bagging a few triumphs helped to keep me motivated, committed and engaged.
Let’s be real though, it did take practice.
When I say practice, I mean it took repetition to retrain my behaviour.
Whatever, I was chasing, I had to chip away at it.
Step-by-step, day-by-day, no exceptions.
Over time, this routine of repetitive doing every single day started to make a difference.
First up, I became better at protecting my priorities.
Secondly, the micro-steps of daily progress began to rack up.
Before I knew it, small incremental gains snowballed into bigger payoffs.
And the results showed up across different aspects of my life.
From my work, projects and interests to diet, fitness and investments.
The Compound Effect
So it’s true…gradual daily progress coupled with time is a magnifier.
One thing I’ve learnt though is regardless of the pursuit, motivation alone isn’t enough.
What counts is consistency.
I’m talking about the discipline to show up each day to nurture what you love.
And, this takes an athletic mindset.
Simply look at professional sports people.
Come rain or shine, they train most days, pushing through the pain to unlock their max potential.
Same goes for businesses.
I’m lucky to have met founders of brands doing well.
What I can tell you is their businesses weren’t built overnight.
Quite the opposite. Grand visions are often broken down into bite-sized tasks.
That way, a founder can tackle on one thing each day.
This is whether it’s market research, coming up with a name, or making a hire.
I find the same applies when I’m working on a book.
I’m sure other authors can attest that the journey to publish a book is more like a systematic series of baby steps.
For starters, you plan and research…then write, edit, design, proof and print.
You get the picture.
Routines Build Momentum
Mind you, the biggest difference for me has been to structure progress into a daily routine.
The rationale is simple. Routines put our actions on repeat.
And, nailing a small win each day builds a productive habit that sticks.
That’s because the accomplishment of any big purposeful goal requires momentum.
I’m not sure about you, but momentum makes me feel great.
Once I get into the swing of things, I feel more alive, positive and confident.
The upside of having momentum is it keeps you moving in the right direction.
It’s what gives you the grit to go the distance.
Why? Because somehow, it’s makes the act of doing easier over time.
Now I rely on this consistent rhythm every day.
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To achieve our goals, we have to make decisions through the lens of purpose.
