I saw this title for today’s post on a church sign a couple of weeks ago and thought, “Wow! That’s a good one!” How many times in each of our lives do we have to start again–again? Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been restarting my intentional planning process using a lot of Michael Hyatt’s stuff, and as in the past am finding it extremely helpful when I use it. As I’ve noted, I’m not a planner by nature, so having a process that someone else developed that works for me has been hard to find. I’ve found Hyatt’s process the most flexible and adaptable, particularly his Living Forward book and plan, as well as Free to Focus.
What I haven’t found is the discipline to stick with it over the long haul. When I say “long haul” I mean over a period of months. Weeks are easy, but months have not been so easy. I know the reason is because I end up getting caught up in the individual “trees” and and can’t see the “forest.” Thus, I’ve been starting again. Again.
Have you ever found yourself in that place as a leader? You’ve started a fitness plan, or a new organizational plan, or a new method for marketing or ________? The great thing is it worked. It really worked. But then life happened and you skipped a day or two, or you found yourself back in old patterns, or some other plan or process had more bells or whistles and you decided to try it? Before you knew it you were back where you were and you didn’t know for sure how you even got there. In those moments, it’s easy to say, “I’m never going to get in shape,” or “I’m never going to get organized,” or “I can’t ______.” Occasionally those statements may be true, but more often it’s simply time to start again. Again.
I read somewhere that we’ve all been told it takes 21 days to start a new habit, and the reason we often find ourselves frustrated is that isn’t true. It take more like three months than three weeks to start a new habit. My experience is three months is closer to the time needed to start a new habit than three weeks, because I’ve made many changes to various areas of my life and leadership over the years that have lasted for three weeks. Perhaps it was the short-term success that lulled me into thinking I could relax a bit. Whatever the reason, had I kept to the process diligently for three months instead of three weeks, I may well have developed a new habit. This much I know: I’m going to start again, again when it comes to my overall life planning this week, and commit to following through, through the summer.
By then, I’ll know from my own personal experience whether it’s more a matter of the length of time committed to developing a new habit that ensures its success, or whether I need to begin again. Again. As leaders, we know we can’t get married to our methods, because methodologies do need to change over time, but sometimes a particular methodology needs to be given more of an opportunity to succeed than I give it. If that’s true for you, then maybe it’s time for us to start again, again in certain areas. Take some time right now to consider what it is that is most pressing in your life when it comes to the one action you can take that will leverage your leadership capacity or effectiveness in ways that nothing else will. For me it is planning not just my days, but my life goals, objectives and processes so I’ll be more effective over time. I usually get a lot done each day, but too often at the end of a day I wonder whether what I got done was even what needed to be done. (That’s a topic for a mother day!)
As you consider areas where you may need to start again, again, remember that it’s okay to start again and again and again. At least it is when the action your restarting is the action that will leverage your leadership to the next letter. Taking the time to reflect on those areas is time well invested, because the unexamined life is not only not worth living. It is far less effective as well.
Here’s to leading better by starting again. Again. Today!