I’m sitting on my front porch, watching the last of the rain. I can smell that “fresh rain” smell and I feel really good? Why? (Glad you asked, I talk to myself a lot but thankfully here I am talking to YOU).

Because I am 14 minutes away from finishing my 8 hour Crock Pot Beef Stew…that I apparently was TRYING to FAIL AT. Repeatedly.
 
Let’s peek under the hood of an everyday opportunity for failure… 

MOTIVATION ARRIVES

Last night it felt like I should go buy MEAT. I realized I was fresh out of protein – no chicken, no beef and no pork. I went with it and happily spent $30 on meat.
 
I had a vision of Beef Stew which I hadn’t made in (shame on me) years. And Pork Posole. And THREE BEAN CHILI…

MOTIVATION CRASHES

Once I got the meat, all my enthusiasm faded. I was hot. I was hungry. I wanted to head home.
 
What I NEEDED to do was go get some damn red potatoes so I could actually MAKE the stew… Those were at the FAR away grocery store -another whole 3 miles (5 km) – yeah. I know. Sad in hindsight. At the moment? Not so much.

COMMITMENT OPPORTUNITY

​I had to MAKE myself take the turn and just GO. (No blinker even, last second. Sorry truck behind me!) Once there, I bought everything to make the beef, pork AND chili meals and I felt amazing for NOT wimping out. Ha! I did it!
 

FINISHING: EXC– USES OR EXECUTION?

I needed to start the stew this morning if I wanted it for dinner. And….I didn’t want to.

I had to chop the onions (I cry like a wet baby), mince garlic and cut this fabulous hunk of beef into chunks and brown it. (Yes. I know you are laughing at my little “hardship”. You’ve been here too.)
 
Then I noticed myself looking for EXC– USES. The thought of almost a WHOLE hour lost…I had to make myself make the TIME.
 
I had to make myself make the TIME.

Why am I sharing?

I want you to notice in your own life where these 4 stages can pop up.

What do you do?

Do you see how really complex just making and taking the actions to have a healthy dinner are?
 
I had to ACT on the motivation, TELL the truth to myself once it faded, — USE commitment to push myself to do what I needed to do AND then still had to BATTLE my “don’t wannas” early in the morning just to FINISH.

Building the habit of finishing is CRITICAL.

When you can do those LITTLE WINS all the time, you train for the BIG WINS.

​My clients aren’t always trying to write a book or save the world. Mostly they are trying to go the gym, stop procrastinating or not trigger & yell when their child says something insane.

​It is in these SMALL moments you change.

​If you don’t know how to make them, take them and celebrate them you put too much pressure on yourself to get the BIG WINS.
And just like the Olympics (which I am surprising myself, but I am HOOKED and YELLING) you can never do in the hardest moment, what you haven’t already done 1,000 times before when it when it wasn’t critical.