I have to report I had what I can only describe as mixed fortunes over the weekend.
I
managed to beat my time in the local 5k Parkrun for the 4th week on the trot, (21.50 if you’re interested).
Now how you interpret that time will very much be determined by your context.
If you are a fleet footed speed machine, this time will look very ordinary…
…however if you are someone who has never run or is just starting out, it may seem like a great time.
But do you know what, I don’t care what others think.
I know I’ve beaten my time 4 times on the trot and so I’m a happy bunny.
That was on Saturday morning, fast forward to Sunday morning when I managed my U9 football team.
Come the final whistle of the game, my little ankle biters had been ‘thumped’ and came second by a very long way (17-0 to be precise!)
But here’s the thing.
I was more pleased with them this week than I had been for the previous 2 games of this season.
Why?
Well firstly the boys actually tried to put into practice what we had been coaching them on, and as such actually played far better than the previous two weeks…
…unfortunately they just happened to come up against a very good team.
Secondly, it would have been very easy when the 8th, 9th or 10th goal went in for them to just think ‘stuff this for a game of marbles’ and just give up.
Yet not one of them did.
They ran and tackled and passed right up until the final whistle.
(I had 4 different opposition parents come up to me to praise the team on their never say die attitude)
OK, so you might be thinking what on earth has all this sporting stuff got to do with you and your efforts on line?
Well a couple of parallels hit me.
Firstly, in both of these situations, to get the best out of the situation, my focus was internal.
I’ll be honest and say I am VERY competitive.
Whether that be online or on the sports field.
But that competition is internally focused.
Can I be better this week than I was last week?
Can I do more of the right stuff than I did last week?
Can I achieve more than I did last week?
There are always going to be people/teams/marketers out there that are better or more experienced than we are…
…so why compare yourself to them?
Yes learn from them, but don’t get disheartened when they seem to be a mile ahead of you in the race.
You are not in a race with them; you are in a race with you.
And if you keep beating your previous best you are getting ever closer to whatever your definition of success is.
It doesn’t matter a hoot what anyone else is doing.
The second parallel was the need for a ‘Winston Churchill’ type never surrender attitude.
When I was suffering with my achilles over the summer months I could have easily said to myself, bugger this, why bother.
When the boys in the football team were being tonked by better opposition they could easily have waved the white flag.
When I wasn’t seeing a profit in my second, third or fourth year of my internet marketing business, I could quite easily have thrown the towel in.
As it happens I carried on doing the right things, beating my performance from the previous week, and eventually I saw results, whether that be seconds off my running times or cash in my PayPal account.
Keep on, keeping on as the expression goes.
As for the football team, we are not yet seeing the results, but the fact they are getting the first bit right (being better than they were the previous week)…
…I would suggest that some form of success isn’t going to be that far away.
So what are you going to do to make sure this week is better and more productive than last week?
If you need a little help, you can still get hold of my free success checklist HERE. Use it to come up with your plan of action for the week.
I hope this has given you something to mull over.
Have yourself a great week and please feel free to let me know what you think.
