Just Do It!
Happy New Year! I took a break from long-form content, and I’m happy to be back at my desk writing.
Speaking of which, yesterday was Quitters Day. It’s the time of year people give up on their resolutions.
I have an ongoing resolution to become a better writer and hopefully create impact in the world. So, back at it…
We all know the timeless tagline from Nike, "Just do it!" And we've all seen their awesome commercials that inspire movement.
There's an interesting parallel in our careers. Progress. Movement. Momentum. We all want it, but if we're not careful, we stall.
We allow ourselves to work in a less-than-optimal environment ... for a boss who might not appreciate our efforts ... doing uninteresting tasks and projects.
There are two main reasons we do this. First, we have a status quo bias. We say to ourselves, "This is not a good time to make change happen." In essence, we defer our decision. But we often don't realize that by not deciding, we've actually made a decision!
Second, and somewhat connected to the first reason, we have an all or nothing bias. We say to ourselves, "If I don't have time to do this right, than I won't do it at all." In our sad surrender, we avoid progress in the pursuit of perfection.
However, if you look at the elite athletes that Nike serves, they don't think that way. If you offer elite athletes the chance to get 1% better, they will take it. Why? Because 1% is often the difference between gold and silver.
Treat your career like an elite athlete would. Don't allow yourself to stall because you don't have the time to go all in. If you get 1% closer to what you want every day for a year, you will end the year 38 times closer. Prioritize you. Just do it!
Your coach,
Chris
