When Everyone Stops Working, Keep Going
Staying in motion provides the most force. Momentum increases power. Movement increases opportunity and expands success.
What does hard work look like?
“If other people are putting in 40 hour workweeks and you’re putting in 100 hour workweeks, then even if you’re doing the same thing … you will achieve in four months what it takes them a year to achieve.” — Elon Musk
“You go harder when everyone else has had enough.” — Tim Grover
The best writers? They write every day.
The best athletes? They train every day.
The best anything? They do it every day.
Momentum wins.
Imagine the Grand Canyon. Now imagine the Grand Canyon before there was a canyon. How long did it take? Thousands of years, right?
Now what if the water did this. What if the water flowed and worked to erode the stone 5 days a week but took the weekends off. By the time the water flowed again on Monday, the stone would be hard, dry, and hot. The momentum would be lost and it would take longer still for the canyon to become what it is today.
Why do people take time off? We need it, right? Yes and no.
There are effective ways to “take time off” and as with anything, there are also ineffective ways.
Most of us have learned, either the easy way or the hard way, that a weekend filled with excessive alcohol and no sleep does not exactly position us in a strong spot on Monday.
What if we read a book for leisure? (One that we could learn from) and what if we did some work around the house? Wouldn’t that be much much better than the other option? We might actually wake up with energy on Monday.
There’s a third way. What if, as authors, farmers, athletes, and so many others do, we take a day off. We rest on Sunday. But rest in what way? Fellowship at church is great, so is actively serving. Next, as an athlete or as an author or as a farmer, we spend 30 minutes reading a book that would positively impact our craft. Wouldn’t we be much better positioned than we would be otherwise?
Moving for the Finish Line
Staying in motion provides the most force. Momentum increases power. Movement increases opportunity and expands success.
“Remain conscious of your actions. Keep going forward. Pursue greatness.” — Harrison Wendland
When we run and walk and run and walk and run and walk some more, it’s a lot harder to get to the finish line when we should.
The story that comes to mind is that of the tortoise and the hare. The hare got a massive head start and then stopped. Can you imagine how convincing the win would have been if they had just continued and crossed the finish line?
But they didn’t. They stopped and rested. They took time off.
The tortoise could have just counted the race as a lost cause. Might as well cut their losses right? After all, there’s no way they could catch up to a hare who’s dramatically quicker than they are. But they kept going and they kept moving.
The tortoise kept taking steps again and again and again. Even though they were small slow steps, the tortoise crossed that finish line first.
While the finish line is great, that’s never where your story should end.
It’s day by day and moment by moment. When people want us to quit or slow down, we shouldn’t even hear them.
We need to just keep going. If we can determine the 3 most important things for the upcoming day before we go to sleep and then wake up and attack, we’ll be much better positioned for all that we’re looking to accomplish.
“Discipline is continuous; there is no start time or end time.”
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