How did yesterday go?
Did you experience a big win that you’re still celebrating today?
Or was it one of those “beat me up, can’t wait to put it behind me” type of days?
It’s a fresh day. Win or lose, Competitors learn to leave yesterday behind. Today is Day One.
If we have struggle with the idea that we have so far to go, or too many days ahead, our motivation fades. Scientists have proven that our competitive edge and motivation work much better (and are sustained) when we have an endpoint. We can keep pushing through the pain as long as we know there is an end in sight. It’s just like your workout – you know the time cap is coming so you put your head down and keep competing even harder until you reach it.
But in life? We don’t always set time caps on our goal pursuits. And so, in the midst of our journey, when things become difficult, our motivation wanes because we don’t know how much longer we have to go. It’s deflating.
Now compare that feeling with the feeling of your first day, when you just started. How excited were you? How much energy did you have to go after this new goal? If you’re anything like me, I bet you were bouncing off of the walls, just trying to contain your enthusiasm.
Day One is always the best day – because we haven’t hit the adversity, we haven’t lost sight of the finish line, and our motivation is still high because we’ve started taking action.
But what if every day was Day One?
Compare your journey to one that a recovering addict has? They have to take their progress one day at a time. Every morning is the first day – because with that, they don’t get overwhelmed by how far they have to go. And all of us have the strength for day one.