1 PERCENT

I know…it doesn’t feel like that notable of a number, but I promise, it is when it comes to cultivating change in your daily habits. We’ve all experienced moments where we identified a habit or a behavior (or any aspect of our life), that we were seeking change in. The problem is few follow through on them. Why? They tell themselves that it’s too hard, they’ll try again next month, make excuses (be it good or bad) and get too busy to make the time… and poof, just like that, the transformation journey comes to an end. I read a study that 80% of resolutions aren’t followed through on. Maybe it’s because we live in a world where we want rapid success and instant results. I’ve never seen a carpenter layout a brand-new wood floor without going plank by plank first.

This is where I hit the reset button for us and we start fresh on this Monday Motivation while we take baby steps to improve ourselves by 1% per day. How do you get motivated and find the willpower? As much as I love a good Rocky movie or inspirational quote and song, that simply isn’t going to be the only fire starter we need to get passionate to make a difference. Instead of wondering how you are going to get motivated, take the decision making out of it and bring clarity to your plan… identify ways to get 1% better (incremental changes) every day.

I read a remarkable story about British Cyclists, who never won an event for a solid 110 years. In fact, they were so bad at their sport that even top bike manufacturers refused to sell bikes to them in fear of gaining a bad reputation that could hurt their sales. They ended up hiring a new performance director that dissected every aspect of a bike and its rider – from improving the seat, to the material of the clothing worn, all the way down to their hygiene practices. Through implementation of the tiniest changes, the performance director found significant increases when he put them all together. The British Cyclist team ended up dominating their sport and winning five Tour de France victories within six-years. Amazing what zooming out can do.

Now think about yourself as the new performance director in your own life. What’s your 1% to start today? The goal should not be to write a newsletter, it should be to become a writer…its should not be to sell a house, it should be to become an agent….the goal should not be to collect your paycheck but to build on a career…not to read a book but to become a reader. See where I’m going with this. Find your area of improvement, make a plan on where to begin, when you are going to do it and how you plan to see it through. And last but not least…don’t focus on the finish line but aim for the start.

Have a great and productive day!