If you've Followed my Writing, you'll Know that I'm a Huge Advocate for having Daily Minimums.
Making Small Progress.
Toward Your Major Goals.
Every Day.
Period.
It doesn't really Matter How Small it is.
As Long as You "Do" It.
I recently talked about the Power of Having Minimums.
Their Impact can go So Much Further than we Realize.
But there is Another Specific Aspect of Why I Talk About "Minimums" and Not "Maximums".
Reality Will Strike.
Often when we Least Expect It.
Let me Tell You About My Day Yesterday.
I've been in the Process of Launching a Newsletter on "Seeking Sageship".
It's a Project I'm Really Excited About!
But here's the Deal.
I'm Terrible with Technology.
I Frequently Struggle to Understand Technology.
It takes me Time to get even a Mediocre Grasp of Technology.
I often end up Confused and Unsure of Why Things Are Not Working.
I can usually figure it out, but it takes me time.
So, I was working on the "About" Section of the Newsletter.
For it, I was pulling different pieces together from across platforms.
Important Information.
Quotes.
Those kinds of things.
As I was pulling these together, I was making Awesome Progress.
I was Really Excited about Coming Close to the Finish Line after having been sitting at the Computer for Three or Four Hours working on it.
So What Happened?
I Made the Comically Classic Error of "Not" Saving My Progress.
My Touchpad went a "Little" Too Close to the Tab I was Working On.
It Overregistered a "Tap" on the "X" of the Tab.
The Tab Disappeared.
Oh No...
Three or Four Hours of Progress.
Gone.
In a Fraction of Second.
To say that I was "Frustrated" would be an Understatement.
I was Angry at the Touchpad.
Resentful at Myself for Not Saving.
Nearly Frantic at Getting Back All the Information that I Lost.
In the End, it was No Use.
Everything was Gone.
So I went back to Re-Doing all that Work.
The Time hit at about 1:00 AM and I was Tired, to say the least.
I looked at the Bed and was Completely Ready to Slumber.
The Pillow Called to Me the Sweet Song of Sleep.
I "Almost" Went Immediately to Sleep.
But my Mind Processed My Day as I Always Do.
It's become a Habit.
I've Designed this Habit to Make Sure I Have Made Progress Toward My Goals.
What Did My Mind Remind Me Of?
I Had Not Done My Physical Exercise for the Day.
Now I am Faced with a Question...
Do I Exercise, Maintain Progress, and Remain an Exemplar of My Work?
Or Do I Give Up?
Most People Faced with this Debacle would Choose the Latter.
Why?
They Failed to Establish a Minimum.
They Believe that to "Count" as Exercise they must do a "Full" Workout.
30 Minutes to an Hour.
I Know if "That" was What I "Had" to Do, I'd Quit Too!
At that Point, I was Exhausted and 30+ Minutes of Working Out would be Too Overwhelming.
Especially if I was doing a Mix of Exercises I Had to Put Together Myself.
It's a Lot.
Brain Power would be Necessary that I Did Not Have.
But This is "Not" How My Night Finished.
I have a "Daily Minimum" of Completing a 1 Mile Run, which I can Accomplish in 10 Minutes or Less Barefoot, Depending on how Sore My Body Is.
I Could Manage That.
I Quickly Went Outside and Completed my 1.1 Mile Loop through the Neighborhood in Just Under 9 minutes.
The Result?
I Maintained My Progress.
I Hit Day 190 of My 1 Mile Minimum.
I also "Felt" Better After Running because there are Many Psychophysiological Benefits to Running.
Even though I Very Nearly Missed My Goal, I Still Made It.
All Because I Had a Minimum.
A Tiny Minimum.
Less than 1% of My Day.
The World Will Throw Wrenches in All of Your Plans.
Tech will become Wonky.
You'll make Errors that in Hindsight are Silly.
Events will Hit Out of the Blue.
If you are Unprepared, these Parts of Reality will Completely Derail All of Your Progress.
For most people, if they Miss 1 Day, they will Miss 2 Days.
2 Days becomes More.
Eventually, We Quit.
As Humans, We Hate to Lose and Fail.
We'd Rather "Succeed" at Mediocrity than Fail toward Something Spectacular.
To Overcome This, We Must Make Winning Easy.
Simple.
Barely A Thought.
How long Did I Think About My Minimum?
Less than 5 Seconds.
The Decision was Easy.
Because the "Minimum" was Easy.
This is How We Maintain Progress to Huge Goals.
This is the Reason You Must Have a Minimum.