In November 2004, I ran a trail marathon (the write-up is here). The cool part of that story was that a year before, I was the fattest and laziest and least active I’d ever been in my life up to that point. So how did I go from nearly 300 pounds in 2003 to running 26.2 miles (on trails, and with snow falling)?
Habits.
The most important element of achieving success in things that matter to you are building and nurturing habits. Why? Because it’s hardest to work on something across a long span of time, where the reward cycle is far removed from the effort you’re putting in. Thus, building habits, hooks into your behavior that get you acting in a certain way without much conscious thought, become the important trait to get you there.
Forming Habits
I’ve read in lots of places that it takes doing something seven times consistently to establish it as a new habit. I’m not sure if they form that quickly. Most of the habits I have that brought me success took months of effort to sustain before they became my norm. No matter the number, however, repetition *is* the key. It’s why you practice violin. It’s why you repeat figure studies and still lives in art class. And yet, so many of us rail against doing the same thing over and over. I do.
Modeling
Seek out sources of inspiration. If you’re looking to become a famous film actor, read constantly on what people did to achieve those goals. If you’re seeking to build great software, read and learn and study the experts. Visualize yourself doing similar things to make it to the top. Find blogs and podcasts and journals that reinforce your interest. Subscribe to publications in the same field of interest so you can have access to pictures and stories about what excites you.
Modeling is a key part of building habits. It’s a fundamental building block of establishing lighthouses to guide you forward.
Lighthouses
A lighthouse is something that guides you towards a set goal. It might be a written phrase or a strongly memorable image that tells you: I’m heading in this direction and I’m going here because it’s really important to me. (Images are often great icons for what matters to us). And the lighthouses have to be good, something worth running towards, instead of the summary of what you’re running away from.
A lighthouse image might be the picture of someone standing up in front of a big audience, receiving a reward. It might be a picture of a small cabin in the mountains by a lake. Whatever the image, make sure it’s something you desire, not something you’re trying to avoid. For instance, if you’re looking to get more fit, don’t make the image a picture of you at your fattest. That’s a negative driver, and while somewhat motivating, it usually corrodes you instead of builds you up.
Checkpoints
As practitioners of Getting Things Done (GTD) know, the check-ins and checkpoints and systems that make sure you’re still on track are the real trick of the process. The same rings true for things you’re doing to move your goals forward. Because all your larger goals will require time to complete, establishing habits and building lighthouses are good starting steps, but building Checkpoints is where the accountability comes in.
Some people work best with calendar accountability. Others can just keep a logbook of their progress charted over time. Milestones and deadlines don’t work very well for many people, because deadlines are a key trick procrastinators use to poorly manage their habits. Put it another way: can you cram for a marathon? Can you lose all the weight a few days before the wedding? No.
Checkpointing targets for your goals becomes the lynchpin to the success of everything you do.
All About the Work
The 7th Habit in Dr. Stephen R. Covey’s book, THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE is “Sharpen the Saw.” This is the habit of personal maintenance. Basically, if your saw isn’t sharp, it’ll take twice as long to cut down the tree. This again is the key to success. Building a system by which you continuously maintain and improve your ability to deliver successful results is core to your long term success.
Make sure you put in the practice. Be up on your field. Learn, absorb, synthesize, and execute on ideas constantly. Never surrender curiosity and the desire to push yourself a little bit further every time.
Share Your Success
Tell me about one of the crowning achievements of your life to date, something you can really take pride in. Can you tell us a lilttle bit about how you got there? Because I imagine you’ll find echoes of what we just talked about in what you did to get there. I’d love your ideas.
