on January 16, 2019
This blog post was pulled from the Rescue Desk archive. Originally published on a former blog back in 2012, I thought it was worth dusting off, making a few updates, and publishing again. Because January.
A few months ago I launched an all-out military offensive … Operation: It’s Stupid That My Pants Are Too Tight.
I decided to experiment with the theory that “one small habit change will have a compound effect on the results.” (Read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy – it’s one of my favorites, and one I re-read every few years.)
I chose to start simple and sneak up on those extra pounds with one relatively easy step. Exercising. That’s it. No diets, no calorie counting, no promises to drink a zillion gallons of water a day, no guarantees that I won’t eat after 7 p.m.
Just exercising two to three times a week. That’s it.
Then, my plan was to start slipping in better eating and more water when my body was already confused by the whole exercise thing and … wham! Those extra pounds would be sucker-punched right off. G’bye pounds!
Well, to kick off Operation: ISTMPATT I signed up for a six-week, three-times-a-week workout boot camp. I wasn’t looking forward to the 5:30 a.m. start time, but I was committed. I figured I was already in fairly decent shape, I really wanted to drop a pant size or two, and I was looking forward to getting active again. And never having done a boot camp, I figured it was kind of like an aerobics class on steroids. How hard could it be?
Turns out the 5:30 a.m. start time was the least of my worries.
By the end of the first week, I was pretty sure our perky instructor was trying to kill us. Between the push-ups, crunches, squats, planks, tabatas, burpees and other physical brutality, I was pretty sure my body was going to shut down all together. Once, during an especially grueling jump-rope sequence, I caught myself wondering how many ropes it would take to hog tie our instructor and hang her from the ceiling.
Literally. I was doing the math in my head.
But, when it would’ve been sooooo easy to quit, something kept me going back. I had no idea what it was, given that my tolerance for anything unpleasant is laughingly low and my impatience for seeing results is ridiculously high.
I asked myself the same question every time I was driving to my next boot camp session. “What the hell are you doing? You haaaaaaate this. It’s the epitome of all things unpleasant. It sucks eggs! Why do you keep going back? Not to mention, your pants aren’t even getting any looser!”
Then it hit me … it was almost the same feeling I had more than 10 years ago, in those first months I launched our company.
Have you ever caught yourself saying, “If I knew then what I know now, then I would have …”
Well, this time, with Operation: ISTMPATT, thanks to what I learned back THEN about the importance of mindset and developing habits, I knew NOW what would happen if I stuck with my new exercise habit. I knew that if could power through the rough stuff and hold onto every ounce of motivation I could muster, I’d succeed despite my best efforts to talk myself out of it.
When I was planning the launch for Rescue Desk a lifetime ago (when I had a “real” job and a “real” paycheck), I specifically remember thinking, “I’ve got a solid business plan, I’ve got a great business idea, I’m excited and motivated, and all I really need is to make $X each month to live. How hard could it be?”
Fast forward a few months into it, and I realized I had NO IDEA what I was doing. I was uncoordinated, uneducated and completely unconfident that I could do it.
Kind of like boot camp.
But, I hung in there anyway. I kept thinking about the big picture and focused on my “why.”
I spent time every day thinking about my end goal. I committed to attending a certain number of networking events every week without deviation. I focused on soaking up every bit of business education I could. I latched on to people who knew more than I did. I dedicated myself to sheer persistence in making it work. When things got rough, I powered through, stuck with my habits, and worked even harder. And what do you know…
More than 10 years later we have a great and loyal team, clients who have become family, a kick-ass office, and consistent revenue and profit growth every year.
So, let my experience be a lesson to you when you’re thinking about making Big Change … find one habit, start small, and start where you are.
People do what you’re looking to achieve every day, and they use the very same processes and habits you need to commit to. Whether it be dropping a few pounds or launching the next company.
So, when you’re starting something big, set up the process, commit to small (but impactful) habits, and trust that those small commitments will eventually snowball into awesomeness.
Start where you are, establish good habits, and hang in there. I’m still exercising a few times a week, and I’m making better food choices. I can now do push-ups without fear of landing on my face. I’m pretty confident I’ll be shopping for new pants before I know it.