We all want to jump ahead. We want the big result, the success, the steady increase in sales every day to give us evidence that we are doing something right. And we DON’T see that evidence quickly, we start to wonder what we’re doing wrong – or worse – we start that nasty spiral of negative thinking.
I can’t do this.
Nothing I do is working.
I’m not doing this right.
I’m not good enough.
Have you had those thoughts? I certainly have.
Like a lot of creative people, I started my business so inspired, fired up, and ready to to “slay”…that was the trendy word at the time. I thought NOTHING could stop me.
But what I didn’t have – something I had been resisting for a long time – was discipline. In fact, I didn’t really understand what discipline was. I thought that my tendency to start a project or idea with overwhelming passion and energy and then fizzle before finishing was just my personality. I really didn’t know that I could learn to be disciplined in order to ENHANCE my creativity & success.
What I have learned since then, is that in order to be successful, you MUST learn to be more like a tortoise and less like a hare. You can’t build momentum by never finishing things or by working yourself into a frenzy for a month and letting discouragement paralyze you for a week or two.
It’s the daily, consistent habits – yes, even the things outside of your comfort zone, that create results over time. Like interest, it starts small and unnoticeable, but after a few months, you will see the impact you have created.
What can happen when we act sporadically is that whatever momentum (such as engagement with our audience, interested potential clients, views to our site, etc) we gained while we were so full of energy, starts to drop when we take a long break, get discouraged, or worn out. Then it really is like we are starting all over again.
If you find yourself in a rollercoaster of emotions, your energy revs up and then tanks, or you just feel like you are constantly starting over in your business – I encourage you to consider how you can be more like the tortoise:
• Be consistent and clear with your message and share it daily. Tips: Invest in a scheduling app, a content calendar, or a copy writing workshop.
• Commit to spending a few minutes each day learning instead of putting it off when you “have more time”. Tips: Schedule it. If something is important to you – schedule it in your calendar and commit to protecting that time.
• Notice when a negative thought pops up and ignore it or talk back. Your thoughts are what are affecting your emotions and energy, so keeping them in check helps you focus on what you need to do. Tips: Read personal development books, meditate, or invest in a coaching program like mine.
• Connect with new people each day. You may feel like it’s impossible to get your business noticed, but if you connect with just 1 new person each day, you’d have several hundred in a year. Now consider connecting with 5, 10, or 20 new people a day. You do the math! Tips: focus on listening and learning about your potential customers or clients, don’t be shy – use comments to connect and DM’s to build relationships.
Start with a goal that seems so far-fetched or unrealistic and work backwards to determine what you need to do every day to get there. It doesn’t matter how big it seems now, every goal can be broken down into manageable steps.
Remember the story – the tortoise wins in the end!
