Commit to Compete and Complete

Teammates - the title says it all: Commit to COMPETE and COMPLETE. I'm not talking about a completing a marathon or a triathlon - I'm talking about having the discipline to COMPLETE your goals (dreams with deadlines). There are too many folks out there that start a job, project, program, course, mission, or task (or whatever you want to call something that has a start and stop to it) only to come up with an excuse on why they didn't complete it. You've heard my stories about folks approaching me about their reasons why they didn't become a Navy SEAL. The truth is completing something is more uncommon than it should be. Why? Because we humans have the ability to reason - we can rationalize anything if you give us enough time to think about it! The rub with reasoning is that it works both ways - you spend as much time rationalizing why you should do something versus not doing it.

In addition to our innate ability to reason is our human wiring - our instincts - that drive us to avoid pain and pursue pleasure. When these two elements act together, the ability for us to create an excuse for not completing something (especially if that something requires hard work and dedication without immediate payoffs) is very high. Hence the reason why there are so few millionaires in the world - earning money is hard, earning more than most is even harder. Same can be said for losing weight or earning a gold medal or being #1 at something. So what's the trick to completing something?

I say: learn how to Commit to Compete and Complete.

For you to really give it your all you have to care about something - there has to be meaning to your reasoning machine (your brain) on why you're willing to suffer now. That is, the payoff of completing something is GREATER than not completing it. When this occurs then you have the foundation for success - you have a purpose, a purpose that you CARE about, that Fires you Up, that will keep stoking your Persistence engine when everyone else's has run out of gas. To keep the persistence fresh and purpose focused, create games for yourself to compete against. In life, your competition is yourself - no one else. You determine if you succeed or fail - you are the one responsible for taking and making the actions that will put you on a path of success or failure - the buck stops with you.

As we enter this holiday season and get ourselves ready to slam the chapter shut on 2009 and ring in a new year of goals in 2010, be thinking about what you are really wanting to make happen in 2010, why it's important to you, what it will mean to you if you accomplish it - find purpose in these goals, and when you're ready - write them down and commit yourself. When you commit yourself to something, you'll learn how to compete against yourself and win - and when you do, you've found your own winning formula for repeat success. It's all you. It's your call - I know you can do it - you just have know you can do it too - the only way you'll know is when you Commit!

CHARLIE MIKE -- ALDEN

Picture from wikipedia: Two crews racing in Lagan Head of the River (British Columbia, Canada). The closer boat is being overtaken by the boat on the far side.