One Day At A Time
Being present and working in the day-to-day is the best way to go about life.
it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
I have an addiction to the end, I hate the process, and I chronically burn out from intense motivation to start goals, yet once I face the first ounce of having to express discipline I quit the process of working to achieve the goals I have for myself. This creates a lack of confidence in myself due to the countless failures I have had in goals I have attempted. It was not until some recent conversations that I had realized just how much I hate the mundane, the day to day grind, the workouts where you want to be anywhere but the gym, but this is what those who are disciplined love. I have had countless men and women in my life push me to be consistent, seeing it as my greatest challenge. The main one that rings in my mind daily is my coach from when I attempted to run a full length marathon in April of 2022(I did not end up seeing this goal through). I hit a wall in training and was struggling to wake up early enough to get the training done first thing in the morning, which resulted in me running a dozen miles at 11:00 PM or 12:00 AM. In a sobering conversation with him this next morning, he hit me with a quote that became popular in the running community.
It is better to be consistently good over occasionally great. - Jeffrey Cunningham
This quote has stuck in my brain and pushed me to pursue consistency even deeper, relentlessly pursuing what it means to become consistent. This spawned conversations with close friends and my girlfriend with me, as they saw the passion I have for so many ideas but the short lives those ideas have. Taking my goals one day at a time is the key to being able to consistently pursue the day-to-day required to compound into achieving the end result desired. Holding this mentality limits the focus on the future, promotes being present in the moment, and helps me to understand I have to commit to today in order to take one more step towards my goals. I have to often remind myself that making 1% progress is still progress towards my goal. Even if I do not get everything accomplished I am setting out to do, I am still taking the one step needed for today. ‘ Done is better than perfect.’ Rather than being obsessed with training or disciplines looking a certain way, sometimes we have to just check it off the list in order to continue the discipline in our lives.
I hope this post encourages you to pursue new or old goals you have been inconsistent with like I have been. You are not alone, and you are capable to achieve the goals you desire. Like Rocky said ‘One step at a time, one punch at a time, one round at a time.’ Go be great my friend.