I’ve been thinking a lot about time lately.
When you study it, you realize it’s actually a pretty fascinating subject…especially when you start getting deep into it as a concept…
Is time real?
Is it actually linear?
Can it be altered?
How do current thoughts/behaviors affect the future? How do current thoughts/behaviors affect the PAST?
There’s actually some pretty wild research out there right now…even time travel related!
But… let’s bring it back to “reality” (that’s another fascinating subject) and talk about the big one we all deal with…
“I don’t have enough time to do X.”
No. I’m not going to give a time-management lesson. There’s plenty of books… theories… strategies… and programs out there you can look into.
Personally, I like what Earl Nightingale used to say (I’m paraphrasing) about time management…
“There’s no such thing as time management. There’s only activity management.”
Tony Robbins says it like this…
“A lack of time isn’t really the issue—there are people who can accomplish more in one minute than others can in one month. It’s how you think about and organize your time that makes the difference.”
And, Jim Rohn put it most bluntly when he said…
“Either you run the day or the day runs you.”
Amen to that one!
Here’s where I’m at with time…
On the one side, I’m a go-getter and patience is not something I have in abundance.
This mentality keeps me pretty driven, which allows me to accomplish a lot. However, it also creates negativity… frustration… and dare-I-say “depression” when I’m not as productive as I’d like to be…or think I should be.
This is why goal setting and good planning (activity management) is very important for me. If you’re interested… I can share my “system” for that in another email.
On the other side… I understand that small incremental changes over time can ultimately produce better and more stable results…and the process is typically more manageable and less stressful.
Now, that’s not to say you can’t make big leaps.
Two of my favorite books are:
- You2
- The Quantum Leap Strategy
Note: Both are by Price Pritchett
In fact… I’ve had multiple “leaps” in my life.
Opening TheLIFTGym was a significant one.
The next business leap was when we doubled our business from 2015 to 2017!!
For many of our clients…our 6-week 20-pound Challenge or our 50STRONG™ program gives them a leap forward in their fitness.
Those leaps are fun. They feel great. 🙂
However… if we expect to have a leap every single time we set out to do something we’re going to set ourselves up for disappointment.
You can’t lose 5 pounds EVERY week!!!!!
In the grand scheme of things, I’d actually rather see someone lose 1 pound per week (or even month) consistently until they reach AND MAINTAIN their ideal healthy weight. Of course in a perfect world we’d understand that it’s not just about weight… but that’s another conversation…
I love this meme for understanding progress:
I’m contemplating this longer-term approach more and more lately…
Again…not that I won’t jump on…accept…or even seek out (where appropriate) those “leaps”…but I’m really digging this idea of consistent 1% everytime…over time improvement. Before you know it… a 100% transformation sneaks up on you! 🙂
Are you with me on this?
