Stick With the Plan!
An article by Sifu Charles Chi
“The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what the man or woman is able to do that counts.”
–Booker T. Washington
1856-1915, Educator and Reformer
Just prior to his 1988 heavyweight title fight with Michael Spinks, boxer Mike Tyson was told that Spinks had a plan for how to beat him.
Tyson said, “Everybody’s got a plan until they get hit.”
Spinks was knocked out in 91 seconds.
But you know, there’s nothing funny about setting goals and making plans and telling everyone about how you’re going to do this thing and that thing, and you’re going to make this much money and buy something snazzy…
Only to fall flat on your face.
See, most people look only at the big goal and never keep their minds on what needs to be done to get there.
New Year’s resolutions are like that. Big goals that are abandoned in two days because there was no real honest to goodness plan.
Just a dream. Only a dream. Nothing else.
Because it isn’t only when other people lay waste to your plans, it’s poor timing, it’s circumstances, it’s bad luck, too.
But by far, the biggest obstacle that gets in people’s way of achieving their most desired goals… those achievements that would make them so happy, is themselves.
Everyone wants the magic pill that will cure them of some health problem. Everyone is looking for the one job or the one relationship or the clothes, the house, the money that will give them a happy ever after.
But the truth is, every day, immediately after something wonderful happens or some small – or even great – victory is won, life is waiting around the corner with the next challenge for you.
Those people who live in yesterday’s successes are, as Bruce Springsteen says, living for the Glory Days, which will “pass you by… in the winkin’ of a young girl’s eye.”
So the most important thing you can do is to have long-term goals which are broken down into yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, and yes, hourly goals.
Because without benchmarks and small achievements that make you feel phenomenal on the way to the biggies, you have no joy in your daily wins. They’ll feel like nothing.
In martial arts school, they call them belt tests.
Other names for daily tests in the “real world” are responsibilities and deadlines, duties, liabilities.
They sound bad.
But in reality, regular tests are just chances to win and chances to celebrate many daily small victories. Do this often and you are known as reliable and conscientious.
So tests are not to be feared, but to be looked forward to. They let you know if you are on track or off track.
Feedback is Good. Ignorance is Bad.
Tests and small victories you get from them on the way to big, juicy triumphant accomplishments happen because they are close enough to keep us interested and excited.
What is it that happens when you are supposed to be studying, reading, exercising, working… but you aren’t?
Well, as my grandfather used to say, is that you took your eye off the ball. You see, you have to know which activities feed you in life and which ones take the food away.
Which actions pay you. And which ones make you pay.
Habitual failures call it bad luck.
Habitual successes call it being prepared.
When you have inside what it takes to stick with the plan even when temptations are all around you, even when you’d love to quit, that’s when you are close.
When you have discipline and focus, you have already won.
