“It's only been two days.”
Coming from a military family, it's hard to focus on the “right now” because you know that change is coming any second.
So you just want to move on. You want that next deployment, that next house, that next life to come immediately, so that you can rebuild or rediscover yourself. So you can live that life you see in your mind, but you want it now.
It's only been two days since I started a new strategy. But yet my mind is asking, “where are the results, it's been two days!” When nothing happens in those two days, your mind starts to think, “well, maybe this isn't the right strategy. Maybe this isn't the right move. Let's change.”
This becomes a cycle of constantly changing, constantly adjusting, constantly switching. Nothing is good enough, the “now” doesn't even exist.
We have to take ownership of this cycle and calm the seas of change not only for ourselves, but for those around us. If we’re in the middle of the ocean, we can’t constantly change course when we don’t see land. We can’t turn this way or that when a storm hits, we have to remain steady, calm, and secure in the decisions we made that led us to this point.
Leadership expert Todd Stocker has a great quote here: “The ability to stay calm and focused in the midst of change is what distinguishes great leaders from those just collecting a paycheck.”
I believe we all have the power to be great leaders, no matter our title or position. So, stay the course. Let two days turn into three and four and ten and 20, and keep going on the same strategy, the same path.
Live in each moment. Put your feet on the ground, unpack the boxes, and allow yourself to enjoy what's right in front of you.
Keep going. Keep moving forward. Stop over analyzing and over thinking. Just build, knowing that when you put in that energy, good things will come. Not right now. Not in a month, maybe not even in a year. But it will happen.
Yesterday, you made decisions about what today was going to look like, so today, value what you put together yesterday. Trust what you planned, follow that path, follow that strategy, and you will create everything you dreamed up and more.
Trust yourself, be present, be patient, and keep building. Everything you’re working toward is just around the corner.