One of the toughest parts of running a business is actually “getting it done.” There are always time constraints and, sometimes, budget constraints. In fact, there are mostly constraints of will. We all know we “should” do some marketing. In fact we know we should put together a real marketing plan – then follow it – but that seldom happens. We know we should do endless quantities of things we do not do. You’re guilty. I’m guilty. Everyone is guilty. Nobody –nobody – does everything they know they should do. Some of us, however, do better than others.
According to a graphic a friend posted on Facebook this morning, “It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not.” It’s not an uncommon perception. The outcome is that we go about flogging ourselves endlessly for our weaknesses.
There are, however, interesting mental aspects to “ready” that are not necessarily simply indications of degree of desire. Each of us has, as it turns out, a finite quantity of willpower – and it’s tied to exhaustion. It’s nearly impossible to exercise willpower later in the evening – and that’s why so many people – including me – ruin our diets by snacking late at night. You’ve been exercising willpower and restraint all day. You’ve used up your available willpower. Like a muscle, you can increase the quality and strength of willpower with practice.
Ultimately, however, “ready” means “desperate” or “determined” to the extent you put aside other things in your life, freeing up time and mental energy to devote to change. Dieting, for example, is extremely draining in every conceivable way. It takes mental energy and no small amount of time. “Ready” means you put something else out of your life to make room for that thing you are elevating to top priority.
Picture a bucket of balls. Each ball represents a goal or an action you’ve decided you “should” take. You can’t really increase the size of the bucket. You can add balls, remove balls, and move them within the pail, but you can’t change the pail. Being ‘ready” means you’ve made a decision to put your hand into the pail, pull a specific goal ball from the bottom, and bringing it to the very top of the bucket. Then you have to fight to keep it there because, throughout every day, you pull up more balls. What happens when you reach your hand into a pail to bring up more balls from the bottom? The ones on top tend to shift toward the bottom, right? That’s the way our goals fight for attention in our lives.
It helps me to picture the things I want the most in terms of being my favorite colors – each of the two books I’m currently working on has its own color. The book geared to micro and small businesses is a white ball with dollar sign painted on it in green. The second book is solid black with one white dot. Mentally, I’ll add more white dots as I complete portions of it. Losing belly fat has a color – it’s a passion red ball with a black lace imprint. Each of two business I want to set up in California, with my sister, has a color. One is the dark blackish brown of freshly tilled fertile soil. The other is the color of the ocean at sunset. Restructuring my life to afford me quality time with my husband is his favorite grass green color. These are the balls I must keep on top. Of course I must also go through my routine daily work. I hold them tightly against the rim with my left hand to keep them from falling down and getting mixed in, as I pull the everyday balls from the bucket with my right hand.
If you want to succeed at your goals, it will be helpful for you to create a visual aid similar to my bucket, to help you – although I don’t mind sharing. Get a bucket and start collecting balls that you can relate to. Whether your bucket is virtual or real, notice when you start losing sight of those key colored balls on top. Identify the commonalities and causes. Then you can guard against those points of weakness that typically trip you up.
Failing to plan is planning to fail. Create plans to help you capitalize on your strengths and mitigate the effects of your weaknesses. You might need to lay out materials ahead of time. Perhaps certain tasks are best done at a certain time of day. Once you come up with a plan for keeping those key colored balls on top – and sometimes just picturing them sinking beneath the surface is enough, you’ll find that you can meet your goals. You will be “ready” for success.
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