The Year Is Not Over Yet

Do you remember the resolutions or goals you set on January 1st? 

You probably don’t. 

If you’re like most, they were long abandoned by Easter. 

Why?

You had all the motivation and determination one could muster as the new year dawned. This year was going to be different. It was going to be your best year yet. 

But slowly and without your noticing, those lofty goals and resolutions you set fell by the wayside. One seemingly insignificant compromise after another added up to failure. 

It happens so consistently every year that many have abandoned the entire idea. 

The problem, however, isn’t in the idea of resolutions or goals, it’s within you. 

The tendency to cut yourself slack, put things off, and compromise pull you off course. 

That’s where discipline comes in. 

Discipline keeps you driving forward and showing up despite how you feel, how busy you are or what’s going on in your life. 

You have to show up consistently over time if you want to reach your goals. 

It’s October 3rd. This year’s resolutions may be long gone, but that doesn’t mean you sit around until January to rerack and get back in the game. 

The great thing about living in the present is that you always have the opportunity to begin again. To start over. To recommit yourself to working hard, to consistency, to discipline. 

Finish 2017 strong. You’ve still got the time. 

Compound Interest

Growth, change, and progress always happens internally before it ever manifests in an external way. 

In fact, the distance between when real, true, systemic change takes place inside you, and when it becomes apparent to everyone else is gargantuan.

That’s how you get better though; winning one small internal battle at a time. 

Victories over donuts, laziness, and the snooze button may seem tiny and insignificant. And they are when taken individually. 

Things rarely happen in isolation though. 

Each win you secure over weakness in whatever form is a deposit in an account that’s accruing interest. 

Every time you say, “No,” to something you shouldn’t do, you make a deposit in the account. Those deposits are small at first, but blossom over time. 

Compound interest is a beautiful thing, and it doesn’t apply to bank accounts only. It applies to every area of your life. 

Invest in a handful of daily habits. Habits that seem small when taken in isolation, but yield massive results months, and years down the road. 

The disciplined path of doing

Learning how and what to do is easy. 

All you need is the right blog, podcast, book or friend. 

Which is only a click away thanks to the connecting power of the Internet.

Turning what you know into action, however, is hard work. 

It requires the painstaking work of moving things from the theoretical to the practical. From idea to reality. From thought to deed. 

Once more, it requires discipline. 

The discipline to make it a habit. 

The discipline to keep at it until you master it. 

To do it again, and again, and again. To drive it deep into your heart so that it flows from you like water from a well. 

So much time gets spent on learning. And rightfully so. 

Don’t swim so deeply in the waters of knowledge and forget the disciplined path of doing.