Currently I'm tracking my progress a I do the 100 Day Challenge. You'll see I'm struggling, like most people, but the advice was solid so I thought I'd share it here as well.
Day 45 of the 100 Day Challenge
By Preston Squire
Almost to the mid-way point and I'm hitting a real lul. Yesterday was my worst day for the entire Challenge thus far having only worked on one of my five goals and ignoring all others. To be far there was a lot of emotionally intensive things going on and I mentalled checked out afterwards but I think the important thing here is the overall loss of momentum I've experienced over the last couple weeks.
Maintaining Momentum
Momentum is great once you get it going but it can be very hard to maintain over a long dry period when you're not seeing the results you're hoping for.
Which is why it's always great to surround yourself with other upbeat and optomistic people. However, currently many of mine are also facing significant challenges at the moment. Even my challenge buddy is currently feeling off key and she didn't do any better than I yesterday.
Once lost it's harder to build momentum back up again but there's no point in mopping over that. It's natural to have your ups and downs and even the every best of us won't be performing 100% every day. The idea isn't to never have a downturn, although that would be a nice ideal, it's to not get discouraged when it happens. That's the time to really show what you're made of, roll up your sleeves, dig in your heels and carry-on.
Facing Failure Head On
According to Anthony Robbins, 90% of people quit just 10% away from achieving success. I don't know if it's true. I'd wager most people quit a lot further from the finishing line than that. Hell, a lot chuck of people quit before the race even begins! Regardless, a lot of people DO quit just prior to making it.
It's always darkest before the dawn.
There's truth in that saying as no one goes through life without meeting adversity. For some reason the greatest adversity always seems to come before ultimate success. Many allow it to deter them, a select few choose to see the opportunity the adversity provides. They do not allow failure to deter them, in fact, they relish the failure because they see it as a stepping stone to success.
One Step at a Time
Even without failure, a general lack of results can be disheartening and discouraging. A good way to help avoid this is to set a lot of goal posts along the way. When you're only looking at the end result it can seem impossibly far away. For example, if you were to drive from New York to LA and be stuck behind a slow moving truck the entire way, then when you went to check your progress it could be really disappointing to see you're still days away. However, if you've set small goals along the way, you can take heart in reaching each one. It may be behind schedule (and another part of the trip you might go faster than expected) but it's a surefire sign of progress.
Keep setting daily goals for yourself. Measurable goals and put them in order of importance. Likely you won't achieve them all but even if all you get done are one or two, and since your prioritized they are the most important one or two, you're still going to feel pretty good about it.
Also remember the past doesn't equal the future. Just because you haven't had any luck finding a job or a lover for the last three months doesn't mean you won't find one today or tomorrow. However, if you allow those three months of disappointment to affect your attitude then you could be setting yourself up for failure.
So what if you're off track, things haven't gone as you planned and you've met failure (or at least lack of success)? Welcome to Life 101. That's how it goes for each and every one of us at one point or another. Be grateful for what you have, envision your goals even more (I know you don't feel like it), really rekindle the fire and KEEP moving.
You can bet I am.
©Preston Squire 2009
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