Let's talk about distractions again really quick. If I followed the typical path towards what I think my "end goal" is, I would literally be homeless right now.
I almost took a job in California to pursue my passion for coaching, but instead I followed some instinct in me and didn't take the job. The business shut down last week...Who knows what I would be doing right now to make up for the quickly lost job. Not to mention the wild fires in the area I was planning to live..
Not only is this a time to be thankful for not taking that job, but also for taking my first big distraction; moving to Maryland to work for Under Armour.
To put yourself in the best position to be successful, you have to celebrate those small wins. It helps build up the motivation to reach towards your potential. Otherwise your motivation could slip tremendously, because what are you giving yourself to look forward to? The end goal that could take years and potentially end up changing along the way anyway? It's really important to realize that you're not always going to win and it's not always going to be easy (unless you're some superhero). Developing motivation can help anybody to train correctly to work towards their goals. Meaning, celebrating those small wins, which as pictured, can lead to incredible feelings.
As an athlete, I have set goals for literally EVERYTHING. And if I slipped up on one piece of the puzzle towards that end goal, I would shoot myself down. Basically telling myself I wasn't good enough for anything. BUT, what's even worse was that I wouldn't even come close to acknowledging the millions of other things I was doing close to perfect. I was going through life trying to be perfect just to reach an ever changing goal. Guess what? That landed me in a worse place than had I just accepted my mistakes!
While I continue to work on changing this mindset, I've gotten to the point of realizing the true purpose of starting somewhere and celebrating the small wins. And maybe this quote from a track coach will help put this point into a visual picture:
"You want to keep getting better every day and to me, every day, it’s like building a brick wall. You build a brick wall one brick at a time and each day is a brick, so you have to maximize yourself for this particular day. The mindset I would always try to give my athletes, before you put you head down on the pillow tonight, just ask yourself one question. What did I do today to be a better athlete, a better student, a better friend, a better sister or daughter? Just spend a minute reflecting on that because that keeps you on track to add the brick to that wall for that particular day. And each day, it doesn’t seem like progress is that much, but it’s incremental. Very incremental, but if you keep at it adding a brick to the wall every day over the course of weeks, months, years, you got a pretty good wall and that is kind of what you’re building towards."
In other words, if you learn to be dedicated and persistent towards a goal or a passion, you'll see a really positive outcome, even if it isn't right away. Plus, sweating the small stuff takes a lot of extra time and energy when you're trying to build something amazing; gear your energy towards all of the positive outcomes that come with the territory.
Your Second Steps:
(If you've taken the first that is)
1. Follow the 80-20 rule - Be okay with breaking your set goals and expectations sometimes. It'll keep you from burning out.
2. Take one day at a time - Like I said, celebrate the small wins!
3. Surround yourself in a positive environment - You'll thank yourself later.
"Little victories lead to bigger victories, that effect battles that eventually win wars."
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