The Mindset of a Person Who Views Their Entire Life As Preparation
If you check out this blog often, then you know I am a big believer in using daily goals as the key to achieving all difficult goals. I believe the biggest mistake anyone can make in pursuit of a difficult goal is trying to become an overnight success. With that said, today I came across a fairly blunt article that does a great job reiterating this belief I have. The title of the article is You don’t control the outcomes of your life, principles do.
The key point the author makes is simple:
Here is where the notion of “over-night” success comes from. Anything on an exponential curve looks small at the beginning. When you first start a habit, the effects are minor. However, overtime, they become major. Thus, out-of-nowhere, someone emerges onto the scene. What you didn’t see were the years of consistent preparation that got them there. Principles govern.
The same holds true of the reverse. Obesity, debt, identity confusion, broken marriages. These things are governed by principles, the compounded effect of daily decisions.
Small things become big things, always.
This simply means that the principle that governs our life is that the small things we do each day will total up into big things one day. We don’t control the date of one day, but we do control the small things we do every day.
Therefore, the mindset of a person who views their entire life as preparation is one that is keenly aware that small wins matter and that both bad and good habits compound overtime. This is why they focus on winning the day, each and every day.
In order to win the day, you must define what winning is in your life. You must make winning a daily habit. For me, winning the day is defined by me publishing a blog post every single day, and I have won the day 496 days in a row.
The daily goals that define your winning habits and allow you to win the day are important. However, what’s more important is your commitment to stick with your daily goals every day, no exceptions.