Did
you ever prepare for something really big, and when the day came all
you could think about was the next project? This is actually a very
common response. It is particularly true if you are very well
prepared. You've done the work. You've gone through a period of
"eating, sleeping, and breathing" the project. Now all you need to
do is the execution. And you're ready to say "Okay. What's next?"
If we're busy, we
tend to do this way too much. We sell a new client, get the first
job started, then move on to the next client. It's like working hard
to get the football 90 yards and turning down the effort at the ten
yard line. How many games are won that way? Somewhere between "few"
and none.
What happens,
psychologically, is that we get to the point where success moves
from the realm of possibility to the realm of known. We know we will
be successful. A very good analogy is test preparation. When you
start to study for a test, you probably think you'll do fine. As you
begin to study harder and take practice exams, you are humbled a
bit. You realize how much work is ahead.
So you dig in and
study for the exam. Study study study. Take practice exams. Study
the exams to find points of weakness and study some more.
At some point you
know you will pass. You don't "feel" you will pass. You know you
will pass. You understand the material and the exam format. You're
prepared. You're ready. You can do it.
At this point of
apparent success, your mind has an actual vision that you've
accomplished the goal. You've read about this: create a vision of
what success will be like and become comfortable with it. Make your
mind see the successful moments. They become real to your mind.
But you can't stop
there. You can't skip the test. The rest of the world (outside your
mind) doesn't know that you can pass, and that you've really already
passed the test in your mind. You have to push that last little bit
and actually create the physical, visible success.
In
the July 2005 newsletter I published an article on the very-busy
"monkey mind." The problem of stopping at the moment of apparent
success is another example of the monkey mind. Once your mind has
checked this item off its list, your mind is ready to move on to the
next challenge.
In almost all
cases, stopping at the point of apparent success involves not taking
the next visible action on a project. Why? Because we are very busy,
perhaps overwhelmed. Our irrational mind says we can't add one
more thing to the mix. Then we will definitely be overwhelmed.
That's irrational
because we're not adding one more thing: we're just
continuing with something that's already on the list! We're going
the last ten yards. We're finishing a current project, not starting
a new one.
But our minds get
ahead of us. Your very busy mind may be laying out the next project,
beginning to prepare for the next phase, etc. Your mind wants to
move on before your physical being has had a chance to complete the
current project.
So, we take the
course and study for the exam, but we don't take the exam.
We sign up a bunch
of new clients, but don't push to deliver the first project on time.
We work hard to prepare a big
party for someone and don't "show up" mentally and focus on them
during the party.
We struggle to get our kids ready
to be successful in school, but don't make contact with them to find
out how things are going once school starts.
We work to get sales leads,
qualify them, draw them in, but never send out a quote.
We hire people and don't give them
complete training.
And so forth. We clutter our lives
with unfinished projects. Or rather, we clutter our minds with projects that are
90% or 95% completed. Each one just needs a little push. But until
then, they sit.
|
It's great to be within one step of your
goal
. . .
but you need to take that last step! |
As you may have
guessed, this pattern of turning down the steam at the last
minute is extremely destructive. It is also a habit, a pattern of
behavior. And that's the good news.
Habits can be
broken. They can be co-opted by more important habits. You can
develop a new habit to overcome the old habit.
How's this for a
habit: Add extra effort at the end. Turn UP the steam. Push
it through, clean up the details, and have the whole thing off your
desk.
Putting in extra
effort at the end is a great habit. It will allow you to un-clutter
your monkey mind a bit. After all, those unfinished projects float
there, asking for attention. They remind you of work undone. They
represent failure to complete a task.
Developing the
habit of putting in extra effort at the end will allow you to grab a
little quick success right away, too. How many unfinished projects
do you have? How many are in the 90-99% range? Push them! Finish
them! Complete them!
You'll get a few
quick victories under your belt, and that's great support for the
new habit. Then you have to track all of your 90-99% tasks. Push
them through! Get help if you need it. Treat these tasks as "easy
victories" or low fruit. Just get them done and off the board.
The result will be
that you'll have more free time!
Sometimes, with
long projects, we're physically worn out at the end. We are
literally exhausted. It's hard to push that last little bit. But
doing an excellent job at the end of a project will always pay off.
Clients notice it. Family members notice it. Fellow employees notice
it.
When every job ends
with a triumphant fanfare instead of an exhausted sigh, the job is a
lot more fun! Once we stop, or slow down, inertia keeps us at that
pace. Instead, push just a little bit more. A little extra effort at
the end will make the victory fun and exciting. Let exhaustion
settle in that night, or the next day.
Focusing on the end
means focusing on the moment of success rather than the inevitable
tiredness that follows. You owe that to yourself. Never let a
victory pass without taking note of it.
|
"I will never exceed my own highest
expectations."
-- Sheila Murray Bethel |
