What Can You Do Right Now?
Entrepreneur and life coach Michelle Demers has some great additional insight for us. Once you have your ladder leaned up against the right wall, you must refuse to stand still. As Will Rogers said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Michelle explained to me that having goals, visions, and plans is great; it’s an excellent starting point. At the same time, it’s also essential to focus on what you can do this day, right now, as you make your climb.
Someone she knew hiked the Appalachian Trail. He had the vision, the plan, the map, and the stages. But most importantly, every day when he woke up the only thing he told himself he had to do was go the next ten miles that day. He broke his huge goal into tiny behaviors and habits. On a daily basis, this man was looking at the next leg of his journey. He didn’t overwhelm himself with the whole project and instead focused on what he could do right now: one mile, one step at a time.
The point Michelle makes through this powerful analogy is that you can only do one segment, one thing at a time. As Eckhart Tolle says, “the only thing ever real about your journey is the step you are taking at this moment.”
“If you are thinking about the whole shebang in a day,” Michelle said, “and you get some blisters, and it’s rainy, and it sucks while having a bad day, you may think, OK, I’m not doing this for the next 200 days.”
Here’s what Michelle is excited to tell you as you take life one day at a time: if you break down those larger activities into the tiniest, minute-by-minute, action steps, then even the biggest monster is capable of being conquered.
There is wisdom in coming into the present moment as an authentic leader and taking one small, purposeful step forward. The step you take in this present moment is all you need to focus on. Like Michael Benner taught us, keep your focus off of the past and future as much as you can. Embrace the moment, enjoy the process, and reward yourself along the way.
Michelle Demers was featured in chapter 7 of the award-winning book Reach Your Mountaintop: 10 Keys to Finding the Hidden Opportunity in Your Setbacks, Flipping What You’ve Heard on Its Head, and Achieving Legendary Goals.
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