To Be More Successful, Start Living by the 2-Week Rule
Even though achieving your biggest goals may take a long time, the battle will be won or lost in the first two weeks.
Maybe that's because we assume our individuality means we need to create and shape a unique process designed to achieve a goal. After all, you know yourself better than anyone.
Or not. Most of our limits are self-imposed. You can always do more than you think.
That's why the plans and processes you create for yourself rarely work. You're willing to work hard--but not too hard. You're willing to work long--but not too long. You're willing to push yourself--but hey, you're not going to go crazy.
So you start slow. You start soft. You start with a mental safety net.
And within days, the resulting lack of progress forces you to confront the huge gulf between here and there, between where you currently are and where you someday hope to be, and the renewed willpower and determination it will require to keep pushing forward.
Which is the moment, and the reason, we usually quit. Not because you didn't want it badly enough. Not because you don't have the mental toughness. Not because your goal wasn't important or meaningful or worthwhile.
But because you started slow and soft and safe.
And never gave yourself a chance.
Next time, try this. Find a person who has done what you want to do. Who started a business. Who ran a marathon. Who cleared any tough exam. Who lost 30 kgs. Who achieved a level of financial freedom.
Find someone who won't sugarcoat the effort involved, and will tell you that if you want to build a business, your first day will require making 40 cold calls. That if you want to run a marathon, your first day will require running-walking three miles. That for clearing an exam you have to study 10 hr in a day. That if you want to achieve a certain level of financial freedom, your first day will require cutting every discretionary expense to the bone.
Find someone, who could illustrate the process.
And then commit to following that process for two weeks.
Maybe that's because we assume our individuality means we need to create and shape a unique process designed to achieve a goal. After all, you know yourself better than anyone.
Or not. Most of our limits are self-imposed. You can always do more than you think.
That's why the plans and processes you create for yourself rarely work. You're willing to work hard--but not too hard. You're willing to work long--but not too long. You're willing to push yourself--but hey, you're not going to go crazy.
So you start slow. You start soft. You start with a mental safety net.
And within days, the resulting lack of progress forces you to confront the huge gulf between here and there, between where you currently are and where you someday hope to be, and the renewed willpower and determination it will require to keep pushing forward.
Which is the moment, and the reason, we usually quit. Not because you didn't want it badly enough. Not because you don't have the mental toughness. Not because your goal wasn't important or meaningful or worthwhile.
But because you started slow and soft and safe.
And never gave yourself a chance.
Next time, try this. Find a person who has done what you want to do. Who started a business. Who ran a marathon. Who cleared any tough exam. Who lost 30 kgs. Who achieved a level of financial freedom.
Find someone who won't sugarcoat the effort involved, and will tell you that if you want to build a business, your first day will require making 40 cold calls. That if you want to run a marathon, your first day will require running-walking three miles. That for clearing an exam you have to study 10 hr in a day. That if you want to achieve a certain level of financial freedom, your first day will require cutting every discretionary expense to the bone.
Find someone, who could illustrate the process.
And then commit to following that process for two weeks.
The Two-Week Rule
Yep: Two weeks. No matter what.
Why? One, you can do anything for two weeks. (If you can't, then you've clearly chosen a goal that doesn't mean enough to you.)
More important, at the end of two weeks you will have enjoyed some level of success. Of improvement. Of return on effort.
And you'll realize that the distance between here and there may be huge, but not insurmountable. That all you have to do is keep doing the work -- and you're more than capable of doing the work.
For two weeks, just make sure you keep your head down and focus only on what you're supposed to that day. Don't think about the next week or month. Don't think about how many more calls you have to make, or miles you need to run, or money you need to save or hours you need to study.
Just focus on today. Not tomorrow.
Do that, and by the end of the second week, you will realize you can achieve more than you ever dreamed possible.
Because this time, you gave yourself a chance to prove -- to yourself -- what you're really capable of.
I will wait for your positive comments which I hope you will provide after two weeks of implementation. You can try this strategy for anything and everything. Let's give ourselves a task to accomplish.
Good Luck.
Yep: Two weeks. No matter what.
Why? One, you can do anything for two weeks. (If you can't, then you've clearly chosen a goal that doesn't mean enough to you.)
More important, at the end of two weeks you will have enjoyed some level of success. Of improvement. Of return on effort.
And you'll realize that the distance between here and there may be huge, but not insurmountable. That all you have to do is keep doing the work -- and you're more than capable of doing the work.
For two weeks, just make sure you keep your head down and focus only on what you're supposed to that day. Don't think about the next week or month. Don't think about how many more calls you have to make, or miles you need to run, or money you need to save or hours you need to study.
Just focus on today. Not tomorrow.
Do that, and by the end of the second week, you will realize you can achieve more than you ever dreamed possible.
Because this time, you gave yourself a chance to prove -- to yourself -- what you're really capable of.
I will wait for your positive comments which I hope you will provide after two weeks of implementation. You can try this strategy for anything and everything. Let's give ourselves a task to accomplish.
Good Luck.
