We go about most of our days with a general lack of intentionality when it comes to achieving the outcomes we desire. Procrastination only becomes permissible when we focus on select events requiring our utmost focus and attention, treating the time leading up to these arbitrary happenings as grounds to give less than our best effort. It’s a terrible strategy for life, yet we continue to do it because it’s comfortable and easy. We’d far too often take a certain, easy, mediocre life than one that requires real struggle, heartbreak and a conscientiousness to get up every day and devote our energy to the things we know deep inside ourselves that we should do.
In order to cultivate the courage and skill required to perform in the most critical instances of life, we need to apply the same discipline and rigorous intensity to the selective focus we bring into each day. This doesn’t mean pushing ourselves beyond what is healthy, but it does mean working to our limits and spurring incremental improvement through each day.
Another hindrance is that we live under a hopeful misconception that even without intensive preparation, we will be able to flip the performance switch when things are really on the line. Not true. It may be cliché, but the way you do anything is the way you do everything.
A good life is made up of good days; no amount of inconsistent motivation will solve the perpetual issues we encounter when we allow ourselves to give less than our best effort. In the thought of Don Miguel Ruiz:
- Be impeccable with your word
- Don’t take anything personally
- Don’t make assumptions
- Always do your best
“Much of what separates the great from the very good is deep presence, relaxation of the conscious mind.”
— Josh Waitzkin