Back To Back Runs

“Knowledge is not power. It’s only potential power. It only becomes power when we apply it and use it.” – Jim Kwik

At the beginning of 2021, a life coach said to me “Do you want it to happen in 2021, or 2022?” The answer was easy. I wanted it – whatever it was – to happen in 2021. What was I waiting for? What was I afraid of? I don’t remember. In fact, I don’t even remember what that conversation was about. But I remember immediately wanting to take action, and reaping the rewards. Later on in 2021, I recalled that sentiment when I made the decision to leave the soccer world, that I had worked in for nearly a decade, to take on a new opportunity in a new city. The result is this – I, like Billie Eilish, am now happier than ever.

At the beginning of September, I went on a trip with my co-workers. The trip was from our door, to a door down the hall. When we arrived, there was a problem…seemingly. The door was closed, and the person inside had a telephone to her ear. She was clearly busy, and my co-workers did not want to disturb. But we had a dilemma. We had just travelled out from our door to this other door, and desperately wanted to get inside. I, as the newbie of the group, initially planned on following the lead of the more experienced door-knockers of the group. So, we waited, standing there, looking at the walls. Then a thought hit me. ‘What are we doing waiting outside the door? Why aren’t we just knocking on the door, and claiming what we need??’ This is literal, but the metaphor is perhaps even more powerful than the bizarre, inconsequential story I’m telling you. Stop standing outside the door, waiting to get in. Go through the door, head first, and claim what is yours to claim. So that’s exactly what I did. Despite being the newbie, I decided to be assertive, open the door and tell the person we were going to swing around to our space. The result? We got in, no harm done, and claimed what was rightfully ours.

As much as I reflect and look to improve on a daily basis, I don’t regret any of the actions that I took in 2021. But I do regret some of the inactions. Psychologists would tell me, and you too, that this is quite common. People regret the time they didn’t spend with loved ones, the people they didn’t go up and talk to, and the life decisions they didn’t make. But far more rarely, do people regret taking a leap, making a decision, and putting a thought into action. Why? Because every single action presents you with a learning experience. The only learning experience that inaction presents you, is you telling yourself to be braver next time.

So as we approach 2022 and you get out the old trusted notebook to write down your resolutions for the new year, remember that accomplishing your goals is more than just thinking out loud like Ed Sheeran.

“An inch of movement will bring you closer to your goals than a mile of intention.”

Steve Maraboli

It’s one thing to have New Year’s Resolutions. But it’s another to actually think about how you’re going to put those resolutions into practice. A clear intention of wanting to improve in the New Year is amazing, but if you don’t think more deeply about how you’re going to get there, you are destined for failure. So as you’re creating your objectives for 2022, take some time to write down how you’re going to accomplish those goals. Then when it comes time, don’t be afraid to leap into action. Chances are, you won’t regret it. But if you don’t take action, you just might.

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