“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its PERSISTENCE.”
— James N. Watkins
So many of us focus on BLASTING toward our goals at full speed.
Yet I wonder… how many of us will stall out within three months? How many will end up right where they were before?
I’ve been there. At first, it feels turbocharged, like nothing can stop me. Like I have powerful engines behind me.
Power is, well, POWERFUL… it’s exciting, motivating, and it absolutely can get you started, but it isn’t sustainable for the long haul. At least not for most of us.
The amount of effort that goes into being 100% “on” or “all in” all the time becomes exhausting and irritating. You can’t keep going on power alone. It just won’t last. We aren’t cut out for that, anyway.
There’s something else you can do, though: persist.
Abandoning power and transitioning instead to persistence will, by its very nature, keep you going — and get you results. Results that LAST.
Why Do We Stall Out on Our Goals?
So why do so many of us stall out when the power fails — instead of just switching to persistence?
The answer is simple: Transitioning to persistence is scary when we start out relying on power because it feels smaller somehow… like failure. By cranking down to a manageable rate instead of blasting day in and day out, it feels like a downgrade. We’re afraid if we scale back or don’t do things at a constant full throttle, then we won’t get results.
This is the “all or nothing” mentality. And it’ll bite you in the butt every time!
Doing something — anything — at 25% or even 10% every day is better than going 100% for a short time and then quitting. Back in my personal training days, it was shocking how many folks would rather do nothing than something. They felt if they couldn’t work out six days a week, four days was unacceptable, and it was somehow better not to do anything at all than not “do it right.”
I’m not knockin’ my former clients, though — I’ve been there, too! I battle with thoughts like, “If I can’t complete this ENTIRE blog post in one sitting, then I’m not going to start at all,” and “If I can’t fit in a 30-minute workout, why bother with a 15-minute one?”
I sabotage myself! We all do it. No one is immune. The key is to catch yourself when you get into that mindset, and then work your way into persistence.
Get Over the Desire to Be “Done”
Another reason relying on power over persistence leads to failure is because the reliance on power is usually based on the idea that you’ll be “done” quicker.
Guess what? You’ll never be done. If you ever think you’re “done,” you’re actually quitting.
Even if you finish a course, you’re not done with that subject matter. You’ll always be learning; you’ll never be perfect at that thing. Never.
Even if you lose the weight, it won’t stay off unless you’ve built sustainable habits and a positive relationship with food.
Even if you pay off the debt, more will take its place unless you stay vigilant with your spending.
Fear and Doubt Never Go Away
Confession: I’ve been struggling a lot lately to keep going when I feel I’m not getting anywhere.
And here’s the kicker: Even if I am getting somewhere, I feel like I’m not. And once I’m done with the Fear of X, the Fear of Y steps in to take its place. There’s always a new way to self-sabotage and throw in the towel instead of keeping up the forward motion. But there’s always a way to improve yourself, too.
Nobody is immune to fear and doubt. No matter how mindful you are, no matter how much work you do to conquer your fears, no matter how many mantras and affirmations and visualization exercises you do… fear and doubt will always be there.
Fear never goes away; it just changes its face. Change and fear are both inevitable. They’re also completely out of your hands.
The only thing you can control is the action you take every minute of every day. Despite the fear. Despite the intimidation. And despite the lack of motivation.
This is your life — the only life you get. Achieving goals, making money, creating your identity… none of this stuff is supposed to feel easy, and you’re never going to feel ready to tackle it. You’ll never have the power to propel yourself forward. Commit to what actually works, and you’ll soon find yourself loving the progress you make.
Progress is the keyword here. Rome wasn’t built in a day, the next great American novel won’t be written in a day, and a better, smarter, healthier, happier you that makes more money won’t happen in a day, either. Move beyond the way you feel. Show up every day anyway. Embrace the action and enjoy the journey — even the crappy parts — because without those rainy days, we’d never appreciate the sunny ones.
Fall in LOVE with the journey of becoming the best version of you. I promise you’ll be much happier when you do 🙂
Martha L Nethers says
March 28, 2017 at 6:49 amYes, you are so right! I want to be able to earn from home and want to take the classes from you but do not have the money yet. So, I got some elementary proofreading practice exercise books to do at work. I am a nanny and my nanny toddler naps 2 times a day still. I just put him down for the nap, grab a snack and do the exercises then. It isn’t much but a few steps closer to what i want to do.
Thanks for this!
Caitlin Pyle says
March 28, 2017 at 11:52 amA few steps every day add up to a lot 😀 It’s just like saving money. Be proud 😀
Carrie says
March 28, 2017 at 6:56 amThis was a very helpful article. Thank you!
Caitlin Pyle says
March 28, 2017 at 11:51 amThank you for reading, Carrie!!
LaceyLew says
March 28, 2017 at 7:13 am“If you wait until all the lights are green before you leave home, you’ll never get started on your trip to the top.” So true!! I’m going to print out this quote from our email blast and stick it on my computer screen so that I can see it every day. It really hit home for me.
Also, this was a nice, little push to start my day! I’ve been wanting to do this for over a year and I finally took the plunge. I’m still terrified that it won’t work out but, had I just went for it when I first wanted to, I’d be making money right now instead of spending it on the courses, a website, and the resource materials. I’m excited to be able to look back on all of this, a year from now, and see how far I have come.
No more envying others and wishing I could be one of the success stories! It’s time to do this!!
Caitlin Pyle says
March 28, 2017 at 11:50 amYes!! Love this. Remember, you’re *investing* — not spending 😉 There’s also no such thing as failure. Only learning! You’re already a success having made these mindset shifts.
Laura says
March 28, 2017 at 9:37 amGreat post! One of my mantras (usually about housework) is: do it, do it now, do it anyway. I’ve also been working on the all or nothing approach. I found that I struggled with this a lot with my “me time”, mostly in craft projects. I felt like if I didn’t have a whole day/afternoon to complete something, I would put it off until I did. Guess how often that happens? Breaking the projects down means I can make PROGRESS.
Caitlin Pyle says
March 28, 2017 at 11:48 amAhh; it’s so funny you mention housework. I’ve been working through things in that same area. I read the book “Simply Clean” by Becky Rapinchuk which taught me how to clean in a way that doesn’t overwhelm or exhaust me… and even makes it fun. Highly recommended.
I hear you on the projects too!! When I’ve got only an hour to work on something and decide not to wait till I’ve got more than that, I’m always surprised at how much I get done in an hour!! Haha.
Thanks for reading 🙂
Jeanne Mulholland says
March 29, 2017 at 11:39 am“Simply Clean”? Oh how I need that book! My main problem is time management though. I am behind on so many things.
Tracie says
March 28, 2017 at 9:59 amCaitlin,
Wow! What a great article. Thank you so much for writing this! I have been trying to start my own blog for the past year and I gave up. It just seemed like on road block after another. This article has encouraged me to start again and DO SOMETHING every day to make it towards my goal. Every person I have told about my blog thinks its a good idea so I know I shouldn’t stop.
Caitlin Pyle says
March 28, 2017 at 11:46 amWhoohoo!! So glad it reached you at such a great time for you. YES — get going on that blog. Do a little something every day.
edixon says
March 28, 2017 at 10:24 amWhat an awesome, inspiring post as usual, Caitlin! This was just what I needed today as I put the final touches on my website and order business cards. I told myself this morning that I need to do at least one hard or difficult thing each day. The sense of accomplishment that comes after completing one difficult task can sometimes outweigh any feelings of accomplishment that follow the completion of a whole list of easier tasks.
Caitlin Pyle says
March 28, 2017 at 11:54 amAchievement drives happiness!! I think that sense of accomplishment we get is nothing other than bona fide happiness in all its glory!! A lot of people fall into the trap of thinking zero problems, a perfect life, a better X or a better Y will make them happy, but it won’t… solving problems and achieving things makes us happy. When we stop doing that, we get bored and, well… unhappy! 🙂
Ramona says
March 28, 2017 at 1:13 pmThis was just what I needed. I’ve been feeling very uninspired lately. It doesn’t help that my family of five was hit with the stomach bug twice in four weeks. I plan on signing up this summer and in the meantime, I will practice my proofreading skills. Thank you so much for this, Caitlin. I feel a lot better.
Nadina Medlin says
March 28, 2017 at 9:57 pmI can’t begin to say how much I needed to read this today. I’m in a pain flare and have been inching through my college school work. On a similar note, I have a journal entry due for a Psych course and I’ve chosen to title my journal entry; Talent versus Persistence. I grew up with a parent who firmly believed that talents were a matter of birth and if you didn’t have talent, you should not even try. I have been working on a theory about this for some time. A person with a grain of talent who applies hard work and persistence will usually go much further than a person with a bushel of talent who doesn’t work on developing the skills.
This is a scary topic for me because I am battling my inner critic and the decrees of a godlike parent. I’ve, historically, been very good at persistence. However, after I developed Fibromyalgia I have struggled more with breaking things down into manageable chunks.
The reminders today, from you and Ben, were greatly needed!
Jeanne Mulholland says
March 29, 2017 at 11:46 amThank you so much for sharing this amazing article with us, Caitlin. I am forever grateful. So many things I have put off and could be much further along in life. You have come into my life at the perfect time. God bless you.
Ken Cook says
March 30, 2017 at 10:43 amVery inspirational post Caitlin! Made me take a second look at my 7 online microstock illustration portfolios, and what I thought were kind of anemic sales were actually not that bad. Even though it’s a slow process, I’ve had over 7,000 sales in about 4 years and they are ticking up slowly. I’ve been persistent in adding at least 2 per week and am finally about to reach the magic short term goal of 500. Thanks for the reminder to just keep plugging away.
S. Cameron says
March 30, 2017 at 7:30 pmI’ve been trying to implement this tactic in my life but I seem to lose focus to often. After reading this I realized that I do this with my savings account so why can’t I do this with my goals in life. Thank you for helping me regain focus and motivation!
Noelle Tennant says
April 4, 2017 at 11:19 amCaitlin,
Thank you for this post. I have no actual formal experience in anything anymore. I have been a homeschool mom for over 20 years and now my is in private high school. I am in great need to get work, but how do I give myself that kick in the butt to get over that hump of fear?
Noelle
Caitlin Pyle says
April 4, 2017 at 11:23 amI just published a follow-up to this post — at the end of the post, you’ll see there’s a link to register for a workshop going on this Thursday and Sunday evening. I think you’ll find it very helpful!! Also, there’s this post!! https://proofreadanywhere.com/how-to-get-over-your-fear-of-finding-clients-as-a-proofreader/