In the last post, we discussed the importance of going at a task with every fiber of your being. Sure, we know challenges are healthy and beneficial and that we should tackle them head on, thus applying effort, but what is our actual relationship with applying that effort? How do we view it? And perhaps more importantly, how should we view it?
When most people set out to complete a task they often only view it as exactly that: a task. Effort is applied to get something done, or rather, get something off their plate so they don’t have to think or worry about it anymore. In other words, the task is the end itself. Often when we create to-do lists for ourselves the items on said lists typically aren’t earth -shattering in what they accomplish. So even when we get many of those to-do’s checked off, we feel as though we still aren’t getting anywhere. Eventually we condition ourselves to believe that effort isn’t going to get us very far. We become reserved when it comes to exerting effort, selecting the tasks that give us the biggest dopamine rush (i.e. checking emails) instead of working on the things that actually matter. Effort for the most part seems fruitless. This is especially true if we aren’t certain that our effort is going to have a guaranteed payoff (this is where faith comes in).
The success-minded, however have an entirely different relationship when it comes to effort. Even if the outcome is uncertain with no guaranteed payoff, the top performers see effort as a means of getting closer to their desired target. They truly believe that, with enough effort in the right places, they can build up to their dreams. Effort is always a means to an end, and that end is never left out of sight. When a success-minded person builds a to-do list, they aren’t thinking of boxes that they need to check off before heading to sleep that night. They are determining how to spend the 110% effort they plan to give wisely on tasks that get them closer to their desired outcome. The focus is never the task. The focus is the goal the task helps them to reach. With a goal always on the forefront of their mind, they never are sparing with their effort. Effort on meaningful, goal reaching tasks is always effort well spent. The mindset, put succinctly, is “I am willing to put my 110% into X because it helps me get to Y.”
Making the Shift
This is perhaps the easiest of the mindset changes of the five to make. All it takes is a bit of thought redirection and some extra scribbling.
Every day in the morning and at night write down your big goals, and I mean the REALLY big goals. Yes, this may feel like a pain at first, but your goals and dreams are worth it. Maybe you want to get your business to $100 million this year, or perhaps you want to have the musculature of Ahhnold. Those are the big goals you should be considering when writing your list; the ones that inspire you the most. Writing smaller goals down that lead to the big ones can also be helpful. These are the things that all of your daily actions must build toward. Any other tasks are likely extraneous.
In addition to your list of big goals, either before you hit the sack at night or right when you wake up (I prefer the former), write down your to-do list for the following day. Do this even if you already have it all written down in a planner or elsewhere. Then beside each of your tasks, write down which of your big goals each task helps you reach. If you can’t match a task up with a big goal, then it’s very likely that the task is extraneous, doesn’t need to be done at all, or can be delegated.
When you set out to complete each item on your to-do list, be sure to think about the payoff (i.e. your big goal) that the task will help you build up toward. Use the Task-Payoff list whenever possible. I assure you that doing so will never leave you feeling like your efforts are fruitless again. Every item you complete from now on will always bring you that much closer to your ultimate goals.
Eventually, through continuous use of the Task-Payoff list, you will begin to only write down the tasks that advance you toward your goals most quickly and ignore the less meaningful and unnecessary ones altogether. This is what upper management means when they talk about maintaining focus on the “higher level” stuff. They take the big, meaningful actions and delegate the smaller ones. Your goal for this Shift should be getting to a point where all you really concern yourself with is the “high level” stuff. If taking massive action with your goals in mind is your primary focus, 110% effort will feel more than worth your trouble.
Tyler Bennett is a writer, entrepreneur, and graduate student in mathematics who has a passion for helping students get the most out of their education and their lives as a whole. He has authored several books including The Art of Habit Building and The College Handbook They Never Gave You under the pen name Dan Stevens, and is the primary writer for the website TheCollegeSuccessGuide.net . Tyler is married and has four cats.
