Willing Is Not Enough – Start Doing

Being on the right track is not always sufficient. If you just stay there long enough, sooner or later you will be run over or passed by. You have to keep pushing, keep moving, and keep creating goals for you to reach in the distance. Anyone who has ever owned a vehicle knows that “neutral” is between “drive” and “reverse” – meaning you are stagnant…or not going anywhere. Sure, if you are already in motion, and you put your car in neutral, you will cruise along, but eventually you will come to a stop. Well, that is the same thing as just “being on the right track.” You need to keep driving, and keep doing. A lot of people are willing to do things, but not everyone actually does what they say they are willing to do. Walk your talk and put your words to actions.

Learning to create a disciplined lifestyle is an important first step in achieving this goal of continual movement. When you do something only when you are in the mood to do so and when it is “convenient” for you, you are on the road to failure or stalling. When you fall into this trap, you tend to only accomplish the simple goals, the ones with the least amount of needed persistence. The more you do it, the more selfish you become. In your professional life, you will begin to become un-engaged because you will only care about personal growth, and not the goals of your organization. The problems will continue to domino on you. The most challenging tasks do not always come when it is convenient for you. You not only have to be willing to take them on, but actually do the tasks at hand. When you create a partnership with your organization, you have to do your part in completing the most challenging of tasks. Your leadership is counting on you to step up when times are tough, not just when you feel like it. To do this, it takes self-discipline. This self-discipline cannot be a one time thing. You have to turn self-discipline into a lifestyle.

Begin to rid yourself of excuses, because excuses are the very tool we use to turn our backs on the people and the organization when times get tough. You will say or do anything you can to put blame on other people for things not getting done, rather than stepping up and doing what is required yourself, or worse yet…just ignoring everything all together because it is not a convenient time for you. You need to eliminate any tendency to make excuses. If you want continual movement down that right track, or if you want your organization to keep outclassing the competition, then start realizing that excuses are nothing more than reasons why you do not think self-discipline is possible in your life.

Remaining focused on your goals and the goals of your organization is important. People often become discouraged when they focus on task difficulty rather than the task itself. You need to envision the end result in everything you do, so you may keep that light at the end of your tunnel. When you sit and ponder “difficulty”, you are creating opportunities for excuses to be used. Resist this opportunity. The easy path is to throw your hands up, quit, and allow someone else to pick up the load. Resist this. Choose what is right, not what is easiest. Think of the end result, think of the benefits, think of the accomplishment, think of what doing what is right can do for you and your company. Focus on that and do it.

One of the most important ingredients in the formula for success is your commitment. Your commitment to yourself and to your organization is essential. Remember – anyone can sit at their desk and say they are willing to do A-B-C. But when the going gets tough, and the challenges begin to roll in, and you are already swamped with workload, are you going to be the one who continues to drive forward, or are you going to remain in neutral and look the other way, or even worse, will you go in reverse and back peddle from the challenges? Start to take on new responsibilities, begin to practice lifelong self-discipline and commitment, and start walking the talk. Even if you are leading from the front now, that does not mean you may be leading from the front tomorrow. If you do not keep goals in front of you, sooner or later you will stall. Keep your personal vehicle in drive, keep pushing, and do not allow the “breaks”, or what I call excuses, to stop you from your continual movement. Stay focused, keep driving forward. Do not just raise your hand and just be willing to do something. Actually stand up and do it…and do it well. You and your organization will not only stay on the right track of success, you will also be passing by the rest of the competition who are just taking up room on it. But remember, when you pass them by, smile, wave, and don’t look back!