If you don’t make the effort, you would be silly to think you’ll get the results you want.
Whether you’re trying to bulk up or slim down, make more money or improve your relationship, you have to do the work.
Yea, that may be annoying, boring or frustrating. Too bad. No effort, no result. You’ve got to do your own push-ups.
Be the person that gets results rather than gives reasons. Make the effort. Daily.
It’s fun, enlightening and a great shared experience.
My new book is coming out soon! It will certainly feel great once it is published and available. I look forward to having a copy in my hands and turning the pages.
At the moment, however, I need to decide on the book cover design. Currently I have 6 options in play. I have posted these to my Instagram story for those curious to see them. They’ll be there until about noon GMT so go check out the story and have your say. Vote for your preferred book cover. You might get your favourite one selected.
It is a funny thing about getting feedback on the cover. We are advised that we shouldn’t be judging a book by its cover. Yet, I am pretty sure we all do something akin to that. I certainly assess wine, books and people by that first visible impression. It is hard not to. You see something and you apply your library of related visuals to it.
You may not judge it but you might assess it. That is natural. You would assess a wild lion or stray rhino. It’s a survival instinct.
So why not pop over to my Instagram account (@scottsthinking) and assess, or judge, the covers on display. Then message me with your preferred cover. Let’s see which one wins!
It might be 2026 or as soon as spring 2022. It could be any other time too. I hear one of my favourite phrases in my head, “It depends”.
Who will declare the pandemic is over? What criteria will be used? What will happen after? Has anyone thought this through? I am sure lot’s of people have considered the idea of this pandemic finishing. It will be interesting to see how that plays though.
Will some countries like New Zealand and Australia maintain a Moat status with frequent lockdowns for another 5 or 10 years? Denmark seems to have opened up internally, though there are still some border restrictions, which could end by November. The UK is fairly open and almost back to 2019 activity and freedom of movement.
So it depends on what the ruling parties want to see in each country, state, province, territory etc. Some leaders are aiming for zero new cases, some want zero hospitalizations or deaths. Other leaders are being more pragmatic and are ok with many cases as long as hospitalizations and deaths stay relatively low. Another view is the number of vaccinated people.
However, even if there was a 100% vaccination rate, people would still catch it and pass it on. The vaccine reduces symptoms and can aid in reduction of the spread but it does not stop the spread or eliminate Covid. So people will need to get their head around that. Perhaps comparing it to the seasonal flu and how we dealt with that would be possible for some. If not, prepare for masks, social distancing, semi-annual booster jabs, frequent testing, occasional lockdowns and stressful travel for the next 3,650 days.
When does the Covid pandemic end? It depends.
No matter how well you dress it up, an opinion does not make something a fact.
Some phrases simply elicit a biased response from me. The following are some of them: ‘The fact is’, ‘It’s a well know fact’, ‘As a matter of fact’ and ‘Check the facts’. What people often mean is check the facts that support my position.
And just because you want it to be a fact or accurate, doesn’t mean it is.
Opinion is not fact. Get a better opinion if you need to dress things up as a fact to make your point seem stronger.
Choose your hard. It’s hard to start, continue, finish and fail. But if you don’t do the first three, you may have to settle for the last one.
Now we should get into the definition of fail, of course. It means different things to different people. Traditionally it means you did not succeed with your desired goal. Though it can be defined quite broadly. If you haven’t stopped trying then you may not have failed yet.
However, if there is a time limit, then if you’ve past the time allocated, you could say you failed. This is most accurate in a timed activity, project, match or game.
It’s not fun to think you failed at something. But you have only failed in the attempts up to now. Perhaps you will succeed on the next attempt!
Until then, it’s hard to fail. But it can be the only way to finally succeed.
Completing the task can be a challenge. Sometimes we get started and stay consistent. But completing the task, so it is all done, as we wanted, can get sidetracked.
We might get delayed, sidetracked, see goalposts move, never quite reach the goal or many other reasons. Being emotionally involved in the process or never feeling quite ready can be other issues to overcome.
You must begin with the end in mind. Have a vision of the completed project. Prepare a celebration. Have a timeline that you follow. Have some contingency and prepare for things to not go exactly to plan. You may need to be a little flexible.
It’s hard to finish but that’s where the glory, relief and calm is.
Starting can be easy compared to keeping something going. Pay for the gym and go for two weeks. We’ll check back in with you after week seven. Still going everyday? How about three times per week?
Quit smoking? Great start! Let’s see where things are after 60 days. Saving money to build an investment pot for retirement? Great! Let’s see where things are at in month four. What happened?
Starting has it’s challenges but so does keeping it all consistent. But since you started, keep the discipline every day. Save just one pound in your piggy bank or online bank. Do one push up. Push the smokes away one more time.
It isn’t easy. But it is worth it. So many benefits in building new, positive habits.
Do one thing towards your new goal each day. Have a solid reason why you’re doing it. Make it an emotional one, not just practical. Develop tenacity and discipline. Listen to, watch or read motivational material such as The Quote of the Day Show, YouTube channels, or my upcoming book (sent final typesetting changes back to the publisher today ?).
It’s hard to continue. But do it and build your pride, self esteem and better life.
Getting going can take some time. Top tip though is to write five key bullet points. Right now. Type in or jot down five key bullet points about the topic, the call, next steps, outcome desired or plan.
Cracking the seal makes it feel real. Which is great. But it is also part of the problem. You see, until you write something down, the points are just ideas in your mind. You can fantasise about the outcome, the amazing letter you’ll write or the results you’ll get.
However, once you start writing it down, it makes it feel real. You need to be more precise. Realism comes into play.
This realisation scares the dickens out of most people. It can feel like your head getting whacked when the reality sets in. But it’s a good thing. Because if you don’t start, you can’t continue or finish.
It’s hard to start. But it’s necessary.
When you’re tired, nap.
