You sit down at your desk ready to get some important work done. Fresh cup of coffee beside you, your curated Spotify playlist going in the background. You’re motivated to take action.
But first, let me just check my phone to make sure I didn’t miss anything…
Two hours later, you look up and realize you didn’t get anything done that would move the needle forward in your businesses. You beat yourself up about it and tell yourself, “Next time, I’ll be better.”
How often does this happen to you? If you’re anything like me, this might be a daily test of your willpower. Taking action on the important things that you might not see a benefit from for a couple of months, and not getting sucked into the endless scrolling loop and wasting your time.
Here’s my secret…
Stop relying on willpower and motivation. When it really comes down to it, consistency and discipline have nothing to do with willpower. To take consistent action on what truly matters, do this:
1.Anchor your actions to a purpose bigger than the excuses and comforts you make and seek. Goals and motivation aren’t enough to get you to your destination. You need systems and a strong “why” behind what you’re pursuing. This will help you overcome the inevitable friction on your path to personal growth, business growth, and becoming a stronger leader.
2.Create a system around what you want to take action on. First, anchor every single habit and goal to a purpose that’s bigger than the excuses and comforts you will most likely fall into. Motivation will dwindle, but discipline is a habit rooted in a purpose bigger than the friction you’ll face. Create goals in every area of your life, 12 months out, and reverse engineer quarterly milestones that align with the time frame for reaching your goals. Name weekly and daily actions that will lead you to grow in all the important areas of your life: mental, physical, spiritual, relational, professional (business).
3.Create friction in front of the habits you don’t want to do and remove friction in front of the ones you do want to prioritize. For example, if you want to go to the gym every day, lay out your workout gear the night before, sign up for class a week in advance, and tell a friend you’re going to that class. If you have a problem sleeping in and missing gym time, put your alarm clock away from your bed so you have to get up. This adds friction to going back to bed.
You need systems if you want to be consistent and disciplined in taking action on those needed movers in your life.
If this was helpful, I would love to hear from you. Reply to this email with how you’re going to use this to achieve your goals this next year.
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