Keep the momentum – don’t fizzle out
Many times in life we decide to pursue a goal (personally or professionally) and jump right in with excitement looking toward the positive benefits we hope to achieve. It’s often easy at the outset of a decision to see the end goal and the benefits without all the intervening work and struggle. Frequently the means (often hard work and consistency) get in the way, and we struggle to maintain that initial momentum. Let me offer an example. As a first-time home buyer, and having a background in home construction, I thought it was a brilliant idea to buy a fixer-upper for my primary residence that I could easily renovate for some quick sweat equity. I can imagine many of you thinking, “I know where this story is headed”. Well call me naïve if you will or maybe just over-zealous.
After three years of spending many nights and weekends working, dealing with constant messes and dust, and a less-than-enthusiastic spouse, I have some observations that resonate with my professional experience. The first month it was easy to be motivated thinking of that big payoff on closing day, but as time wore on the reward seemed much more distant than the headaches that were front and center, such as being without a kitchen for much of June. It’s not that the goal or decision was bad — in fact, I did see great benefit in home value. I just didn’t realize the full effort required, and needed to plow through.
There were a number of things that helped keep the ball rolling.
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