I want to share something really cool I read in GOOD TO GREAT, that book by Jim Collins I’ve been reading lately. Maybe you have a “to do” list. It could be as lofty as your goals, or as menial as your grocery list. But do you have one? Well, how about your “don’t do” list? I love this premise.
There are all kinds of things we do that pull us away from the things we believe matter most to us. If I took a poll of what mattered most to you, you’d likely list “family” somewhere in the top 3. I’m guessing you’d put some variant of “fitness” or “health” in there, too. Some of us throw our job in there, at least insofar as it either gives us some meaning or helps pay the bills.
Your “don’t do” list would be the list of things that get in the way of your opportunity to do the great things that matter most to you. For instance, if you really want to spend more time with your family, but you belong to a softball league, a volunteer group, a book club, etc, etc, it might be difficult to squeeze in the other goal. Maybe you have a hard time saying no, and maybe others know this about you.
Hell, in my personal case, it’s usually about the ways I procrastinate or focus on the less-important tasks. I do this often at work. I often burn more cycles on something that’s interesting to me, but not necessarily paramount to the job at hand. It would really do me well to have a don’t do list at work.
At the gym, there might be easy “don’t do” things to identify: don’t spend excessive time running back and forth to the water bubbler, perhaps. Maybe it’s “don’t do” only the exercises you like. In races, maybe it’s something like not looking back all the time (to see who’s gaining on you). Whatever. I’m making it up, see?
So, the premise is to try and identify some things you want to stop doing because they take away from the things that matter most to you. Hell, there are lots of ways to apply that to eating.
What do you think? Does this ring at all with you? How might you apply it?
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