If you dwell on what’s past or look too far ahead, you lose focus on the important step right in front of you. It’s why you cannot cling to your losses – you take the knowledge with you so future steps don’t become missteps. It’s why you don’t gloat in victory – it’s only a matter of time before you face a loss because we all lose sometimes. It’s why you don’t think about the game after this one or the interview after this one because it will only distract you from bringing your best self to the task at hand.
This past summer, I (a completely amateur hiker and backpacker) spent two weeks in the mountains with more seasoned outdoorsmen in the family. The last time I had seriously camped and backpacked it was my stint in Scouts 20 years ago. Packs have changed a bit. That said, if I looked at some of the places I scaled and crossed after I did them, I was amazed – couldn’t believe my trek had taken me past that part of the journey. There were arduous uphill and downhill places with unsure footing. All I could do was focus on landing each step. If I landed each step and found footing, the journey continued and that’s all that mattered; there was no sense looking up the mountain or to where I was eventually going to be, because that was daunting and detrimental. Focusing on the current step eventually got me to gorgeous views and campgrounds where I could eat and sleep. The journey was fulfilling and destination was the payoff.
This was all completely out of my comfort zone, but I said yes because of the new experience and survived it by focusing on landing a step at a time.
Every day survived is a day achieved; a day will seldom go precisely as you plan or intend no matter how much attention you pay to constructing the agenda. Your reactions (or lack thereof), how you pivot and evolve to each unexpected situation will determine success. You can only control so much; while it is vital to control the variables you can, your response to the uncontrollables is the difference-maker.
Each day is a part of the body of work; you may set out to start a new routine, a workout regimen, a diet, or a new process at your job. How often have you begun a path – had a great day or week only to have it railroaded by an unexpected turn of events and you’ve jettisoned the changes as a result? It got too hard, you told yourself. It’s just not possible, you told yourself. Consistency is everything – make the most of your day. If you can create the opportunity to exercise, do it. If you can’t, acknowledge you tried and when you wake up tomorrow give it your best shot then – do NOT tell yourself “Oh, I’ll just do it tomorrow” because you can never guarantee how tomorrow will go. Just wake up each day with your gameplan and put all of your focus on the steps that will make just that day a success.
Certainly, we have some set in stone and some loose plans for the future. If there are steps that must be taken in the interim, commit to those, plan them out and execute. Don’t get lost thinking about the end result but focus on ensuring the step you’re on is executed successfully.
Was today a loss? In certain areas, it may have been, but God willing you’ll wake up tomorrow morning with another chance to focus on each agenda item and execute successfully. God willing you’ll have another chance to make good on anything that you didn’t do the prior day or at least take the knowledge and experience from the losses forward.
It’s easy to come up with goals of what you want to achieve in various facets of your life. It’s often tough to actually achieve the goals because we tend to look at the gap between ourselves and the goal and eventually we just get tired and give up no matter how much momentum we had toward the goal at any given point.
Any goal can be achieved, any situation endured or time period of your life or career fruitful if you focus on mastering the task and step at hand – not dwelling on the past and not getting caught up too much on what’s ahead. Win the moment and master the day and your body of work will be full of substantial successes.
************************************************************
Carson V. Heady has written a book entitled “Birth of a Salesman” and sequels “The Salesman Against the World” and “A Salesman Forever” which take the unique approach of serving as sales/leadership books inside of novels showing proven sales principles designed to birth you into the top producer you were born to be. If you would like to strengthen your sales and leadership skills, go to https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073HN3SXQ
Heady posts for “Consult Carson” serving as the “Dear Abby” of sales and sales leadership. You may post any question that puzzles you regarding sales and sales leadership careers: interviewing, the sales process, advancing and achieving.
Question submissions can be made via LinkedIn to Carson V. Heady, this Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carson-V-Heady/125078150858064?ref=hl , Twitter via @cvheady007 or e-mail at cvheady007@yahoo.com or you may post an anonymous comment as a reply to my WordPress blog at the bottom of this page: https://carsonvheady.wordpress.com/the-home-of-birth-of-a-salesman-2010-published-by-world-audience-inc-and-the-salesman-against-the-world-2014/
The Life and Times of Carson V. Heady 