We all remember the story of the race between the Tortoise and the Hare. Although outmatched for speed, the Tortoise had endurance in its own plodding implacable way. The hare ran circles around his poor opponent but still [spoiler alert:] lost the race in the end.
I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. It encourages me. Especially at this time of year, I feel like I’m just plodding away at goals that are out there in the distance. I’m tired. Tired of winter. Tired of this long stretch between holidays. Tired of being indoors. It’s not much fun to be plodding like this. And it doesn’t help that I tend to be more like the hare. I’m easily hooked on the motivation of a new client project and the deadlines it brings. But those are for the short term.
It’s different for my own projects, I have plenty of long-term goals. But in the short term–even with this email, since my goal is to send one monthly–I’m right under the wire.
The valuable lesson I’m learning as I imperfectly apply new habits in my business routine is this: incremental progress works! The accumulation cannot be matched by the “sprints” of effort done erratically through the month. Consistency is the key to making solid progress. Doing a little bit every day will win the race in the long run.
How about you? Are you a tortoise or a hare?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
