Living Life by Design

Not too long ago, I worked with a quite engaging colleague who talked a good game to anyone who would listen, but always delivered subpar results. I was curious to know what was going wrong for him, and I decided to observe the way he worked for several days. I discovered something fascinating. Namely, he was easily distracted by other people in the office, his cellphone, and even by the latest news stories from around the world. And critically, being distracted had become a habit for him! It’s no wonder then that he constantly failed to hit his targets, as a big chunk of his time was eaten up by low or no priority stuff.

Do you see yourself in this story?

Time is a precious and limited commodity. If you waste time aimlessly surfing the web rather than getting on with the work at hand, then you’ll only have yourself to blame if you overshoot your deadlines. Once time is wasted, there’s no getting it back.

The key to keeping on-track is…Knowing what you want, and keeping that goal in mind throughout your working day. How is that done? Let me explain:

Imagine that since you were a small child you had a dream of being an Olympic athlete. Specifically, you wanted to be the world’s greatest long-distance runner. At school, you collected medal after medal for running events. And, before long you found yourself representing your city – up against some of the best runners in the country. This time, however, you met your match; and, you could only finish in second place.

Initially, you felt defeated. You even considered giving up running altogether. However, after a few days, you regained your poise and – prompted from the quiet voice from within – you decided to train harder than ever before. Every day you did your warm-ups, your stretches and powered through your running targets. Even when the weather was bad, you put on your running gear and continued to push yourself through that extra mile.

Fast forward a few years…

Your running success caught the attention of a top coach, and with their help, you became part of the national athletics team. A few years after that, you participated in your first Olympic Games. And despite being up against the best in the world, you won a gold medal in the 1500-meter running event. Your childhood dream had turned into a reality.

Now, take a moment to think about the above story. Do you think the main character was just lucky in life? Of course not. They trained incredibly hard for many years, and due to their burning desire to be a world champion, they never allowed themselves to be distracted from their goal. They used their time wisely, and built success habits that eventually reaped impressive rewards. 

Is our business life any different? This is not rocket science or brain surgery. It’s simply knowing what you want and keeping that goal in mind each and every day until you’ve achieved it.

One more mystery of the universe solved. Now, about Stonehenge…