WEEK 152: THE FINISH LINE AND WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW IT

Keep your eye on the finish line, not on the turmoil around you.    Unknown

REFLECTIONS (learnings and actions): Have you ever ran a long distance. 

A distance you thought you did not believe you could finish before the started?

A distance that almost made you quite before you even started?

Well I want to talk about how you can attract crossing the finish line with the "Finish Line Principle." 

It will help you understand how to achieve your greatest goals.

But before we get into the nuts and bolts, I want to tell you about a run I took this past Saturday.

Now the September in the Hong Kong area is sweltering. We are talking about heat + high humidity = so hot you literally sweat just by going outside. 

I usually run in the morning around 5 am, but I decided to take a run in the middle of day to see what the difference was.

Well, the changes were immediate and I felt the difficulty of what I was undertaking 30 seconds after I started.

I could not imagine how I might finish 5 miles in these conditions.

Yet, I focused on getting to the first out of 6 markers. 

The thing was, the heat was no joke this past Saturday.

Usually I feel pretty good passing markers 2, 3, and 4...but on Saturday it was a struggle to get to each one.

Even after I crossed the half way point, where I feel a new reservoir of energy, I felt I could quit.

This actually continued until I reached the next marker.

Although my legs felt like lead weights, and my lungs were burning...I found a way to continue.

It was not until I reached the marker 5 could I imagine crossing the finish line. 

It was like the finish line was actually pulling me to cross, similar how a magnet pulls a metal object to it. 

Energy I did not know I had left in the tank was injected into my legs and my focus sharpened. 

Actually had my best stretch of running from marker 5 to 6 and crossed the finish line.

And the truth, the best thing was not crossing the finish line...

It was the person I became in order to cross the finish line.

This is MEGA...and ties into what I talked about last week about BECOME first, and have second.

Mentally overcoming the challenges and pushing my body to its limits helped me become a higher version of myself.

And that is what allowed me to finish the race.

Don't get me wrong, finishing the 5 miles felt great, but more importantly it was who I became by finishing the 5 miles in sweltering heat which was the true reward. 

***

Now here is the thing. 

Anything worthwhile is going to feel like this sweltering run I took Saturday.

It is easy to make the choice you are going to do it.

Yet, right when you start you do not know how the hell you are going to "cross the finish line."

Why?

You try to think of everything you must complete in order to achieve this and that is just plain overwhelming.

Here is where you must focus on just reaching the next "marker" and taking the actions which will get you there. 

Additionally, there will be points where you will want to quit.

No joke.

Great goals or doing something amazing is not a walk in the park. You have to punch the clock and do the work.

You can not eat one healthy meal and then expect to lose the belly fat that has accumulated over years.

Just not how it works.

In my case, my legs and lungs were burning, yet I kept going! One step after the other. 

Marker 1. Marker 2. Marker 3. Marker 4. Marker 5...

And then you get to that last stretch where you see the finish line and this is where the "Finish Line Principle" comes into play.

The outcome you desire actually pulls you to it.

Literally, the finish line you could not see during the whole process actually pulls you towards it.

The key is to stay in the race and be persistent to get to this point.

This has proven true in every huge goal I have set...getting a masters, self-publishing my book...

Yet...

I see so many people quitting before they get to this point because they face a setback or just do not want to put in the work.

And the crazy thing is some are just around the corner from seeing the finish line!

So, understand the work that is involved but know the end will literally pull you to "cross the finish line" once you see it.

Top three activities that move me forward?

1. ATLAS - confront to empower and create momentum daily.

2. Zen - taps me into the greatest resource on earth - ENERGY and FOCUS

3. Psychic umbrellas - builds up my reservoir of FOCUS for when I need it.

Biggest lessons/learnings and corrections?

Making decisions based on your current level or default level of comfort keeps you STUCK.

What are you grateful for?

A rainy day (actually Typhoon Manghkut) in with Meggo and the kiddos. No power, no problem! We were able to relax and enjoy ourselves. 

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PLANNING (Implementation Intention):  You will follow through 2X to 3X more likely to complete your weekly task than you normally would just by filling in the following statement.

I plan to complete the weekly task [day] at [time] in [location]. 

A reminder you might have to use multiple Implementation Intentions in order to follow through.

EXECUTION (strategies used):  From week to week, I use a combination of many strategies. There are always some which are used more than others depending on what comes up, but I wanted to offer a link to all them at once. 

My advice is to identify the I CAN'T statement you tell yourself during the most. Then find a strategy below the statement which resonates with you, and then start using it. 

Enjoy!

STRATEGY LIST