The Quotidian Spur

It's a new year and time for resolutions and a new approach. And what happened to last year's batch? Somewhere during the year we just quit.

Overwhelmed, distracted, engaged, and depressed, life just happens. Frequently we fall down in our efforts to make a change in our lives. It is hard to get back up again and return to chasing our goals after even a minor set-back.

Soon we wake up, stare in the mirror, know what needs to be done but can't even start. The clock ticks, calendar pages turn and soon years go by without progress. Why?

Mostly it's because we take on more than we can chew or shoot too high. Our goals and tasks are doomed from the start because they are often unrealistic or seem too overwhelming.

photo of athlete running at full speed on a track

Here is one way to improve your chances for success -- try a sprint. A sprint is a short fast burst, or running at full speed for a short distance.

I first encountered this idea from the head of sales for a financial company. He had this notion that the field sales force could compete with each other more effectively on short sprints for rewards. The concept was that people could really go all out, extend themselves, reach new heights, if the time period was shortened to a few weeks (instead of year long). We worked together to put together a series of short contests with ambitious goals, and at least to my surprise -- it worked. It ended in a year that broke through all the forecasts.

The point is to create intermediate benchmarks for your destination that you can likely reach in a time-frame that ensures success. Can you sprint at full speed for a month? Ten days? Forty-eight hours? When you succeed, reward yourself and get ready to start again with confidence at your back.