Follow Through

"It is the follow through that makes the great difference between ultimate success and failure, because it is so easy to stop." - Charles Kettering

It's easy to talk a good game. We all have that list of tasks we want to get done, things we want to accomplish, places we want to go, or life changes we want to make to become the person we want to be. We may want to start doing something, stop doing something, or improve how we do something.

What have you committed to yourself that you haven't followed through on? Maybe you said you need to exercise more regularly or lose some weight. Perhaps you vowed to drink more water or eat healthier. You may have wanted to go back to school or pursue a different career. Maybe you wanted to start your own business or write a book.

What have you committed to someone else that you haven't followed through on? Maybe you said you would do something for them, help them with something. Perhaps you said you would volunteer and donate some time or money to a good cause. Maybe you just said, "Let's get together soon," or "I'll give you a call."

Whatever it may be, typically, we all have good intentions. But we don't always follow through and complete everything we say we want to do or say we're going to do, and we fall short. What we say we'll do becomes meaningless without intentionality and follow-through.

It's one thing to make hard and fast decisions or commitments in the heat of the moment and always be confident about them later. But too often, we get stuck after those decisions are made and cannot follow through on our choices and commitments. Sometimes we give up or give in before we ever get started. Being committed to doing something means staying loyal to what you said you would do long after the mood you said it in has left you.

We have to figure out what is holding us back. What is causing us to struggle to take action? Why aren't we following through?

It may be because of fear, uncertainty, and doubt creating stress and anxiety. We may have a fear of failure. Or fear of what others may think, say or do. Fear that we may have made a bad decision or the wrong choice. 

It may be because we get overwhelmed when we think about what it will take to complete it. We worry that we don't have enough time or the right resources. We worry about our ability to get everything done. We fear that we are talented enough to do it. We fear that we won't be able to handle stepping outside of our comfort zone. We let the internal dialogue get the best of us, and we talk ourselves out of it. 

So, instead, we procrastinate. We second guess ourselves and then end up not taking any action at all. We spend all our time preparing to take action instead of putting ourselves out there and taking the necessary action to get going.

We need to start with the end in mind and find compelling reasons to get things done.  It's not just about what you want to complete or achieve, and it's about why you want to get it done. What are the additional positive benefits of accomplishing your goals? Who does it affect? What will motivate, excite, and drive you to take action? 

I think about when I first came up with wanting to write a book. I felt just writing one would be a significant accomplishment. But that alone wasn't enough to push me forward. It wasn't until I realized a book could be a gift that I could share with the world, and I thought of the difference it could make and the difference I could make, and I could do my part in adding value to others. It wasn't until I attached a compelling "why" to what I wanted to do that I was driven to start doing the work.

We need to set ourselves up for success. We need to believe in the outcome and follow our intuition. We need to be organized about the steps that need to get done and do them. We need to be willing to take small steps that aren't intimidating to do and are easily achievable. We need to create better habits and commit to working on our dreams and goals daily. We need to create a morning ritual that gets us up and gets us going. We need to learn to take some risks and be willing to fail. We need to appreciate each step along the journey.

What do you want to achieve? What do you need to get there? See it, believe it, and get to work!

Make today great!

Curtis

"Diligent follow-up and follow-through will set you apart from the crowd and communicate excellence." - John C. Maxwell