Front Runners Are Hard To Catch
You have lofty goals, big dreams, and a desire to get there fast. Do you have energy and time in your favor, or is it a lost cause? Can you catch the front runners or should you quit?
Unless you are starting something completely new, you were already behind when you started.
You decide to start a coin collection. Someone who has been collecting for years already has some of the rarest.
You want to start a YouTube channel featuring technology product reviews. It has already been done and they have many subscribers.
There is a charity half marathon connected with your employer. You want to be the best competitor in your company. Your coworker started training for it three months ago.
The picture seems clear. Nearly anything you are about to start has already been started by someone else. Does this cause you to think about quitting or does it provide energy to pull you even harder in your pursuit?
Winning From Behind
It has been said before many times. “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”
Certainly not every endeavor, every desirable pursuit, or every notion that you can do something more will work out with ease. You may have accepted that when you started. Is it time to quit?
Hard to catch doesn’t mean impossible to catch. If you quit, starting something new will likely mean that the next thing you start, you’ll already be behind.
Motivation often has to do with self-efficacy. The best way to improve self-efficacy and your motivation is to effectively manage your goals.
Front Runners
If you are going to catch the front runners, your first goal should be to become a runner. Then it should be to become a better runner than you were the day before.
The key is measuring progress step by step, compared to your level, not the front runner. Each successive small win will help build self-efficacy.
Looking to the front of the pack and deciding you’ll never get there is what causes many people to quit.
The first horse out of the gate doesn’t always win. The fastest car doesn’t always cross the finish line. The team ahead at half time doesn’t always win the game.
Good starts matter, but where you start is not where you’ll finish unless you quit.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a five-time author and some of his work includes, #CustServ The Customer Service Culture, and Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
