Starting Over Until …

starting-over-until-copy One of my clients said something pretty profound recently, and I wanted to share it with you.

She’d been struggling a bit with implementing a time management system and hadn’t quite mastered it yet, but it was important to her that she get the hang of it. In a determined and resolute voice, she said …

“I’m going to start over until I don’t have to start over again.”

Yes! That’s it, exactly! And it’s music to a coach’s ears.

It doesn’t matter what you’re trying to do, that’s what having a clear and strong intention is all about.

You might be trying to establish an exercise routine or stay on a program of healthy eating. You might be trying to learn a new skill … any skill … or improve your performance in some area or another. Doesn’t matter. This is the “secret” to success. If you come up short, start over, and keep starting over until you get to where you want to go.

The fact of the matter is that there’s no such thing as instant mastery, so you need to adopt a mindset that allows you to stumble and falter and maybe even fail outright a few times on your way to mastery or else you’re setting yourself up for a whole lot of discouragement and disappointment.

Why’s that? Because when you do come up short of your expectations, you have a decision to make. You can either say, “Oh to heck with it, I’ll never be able to do that. That’s too hard.” Or you can start over and try again, and continue to start over until you don’t have to start over anymore.

The famous motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, said it a slightly different way, but the message is the same.

“Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly until you learn to do it well.”

Look, I know the message isn’t new. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” But the real message here … the key to actually being able to try again … as often as it takes … is allowing yourself the freedom to “fail” without making it a big deal.

Go easy on yourself. Suspend the harsh self-talk and the judgments. Take some time to consider what you’ve learned from your earlier trials … and simply start over.

There’s precious little you can’t accomplished if you’re only willing to calmly and methodically start over.

Love,
Denise

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