I’ve missed writing. And so, when I heard about a 30-day blog challenge, I asked a friend to participate with me as a way to have fun and hold each other accountable for doing the work. I was excited about getting back to writing, and enjoyed the prospect of doing just a little bit each day to keep current. But on Day 1, there were so many things to do. It occurred to me several times during the afternoon that I needed to get to the blog challenge. However, when the clock said 10:00 p.m., I had still not turned to do the work. And so here I sit on Day 2, catching up.
Why didn’t I make good on my commitment yesterday? Didn’t I want to craft a message to share? Hadn’t I pledged to deliver my part of the partnership bargain to my friend? Then, why had I not made good on my promise? Why do we not take action on the things that are most important to us?
I call this “playing it small.” We sit there, knowing that there is opportunity in front of us, but we procrastinate. After all, we are busy – and things are fine the way they are. It is so comfortable in the zone of the familiar. And because more often than not, we do not take action when opportunity arises, nothing changes. In time, this opportunity “inertia” makes us become flabby and stagnant, compromising our potential.
More often than not, our failure to take action is because we are afraid of failing. We equate what we do with who we are. This dupe has been the downfall of countless individuals of great promise, and has cheated the world of the impact these people could have made for good.
Michael Jordan, the famed basketball player once said, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” His motto was to fail fast, and fail often. In other words, take action when the opportunity arises and, if you miss the shot, keep going, and be alert to take the next one that comes. Remember that successful people failed at many things along the way, took these failures as learning experiences, and used the knowledge to reach success.
Where are you hesitating to take action?
Patti Cotton reenergizes talented leaders and their teams to achieve fulfillment and extraordinary results. For more information on how Patti Cotton can help you and your organization, click here.
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