Sometimes it’s not easy to give your 100%. That’s alright. Let me share a personal story to explain why!
Have you ever experienced so much physical pain that you could not bring yourself to talk? That’s the pain I experienced the morning after a difficult surgery and a very rocky night in the hospital. After pulling some tubes from my body my nurse wanted to get me up out of bed for an early morning walk. She asked me what my pain was on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the greatest.
I nodded. It was the best I could do.
That was about all I could do. I whispered “10” in a faint voice. I had no idea why I was in so much pain. I had bags of fluid coming in. I was taken care of, so I thought. But before I could get out of bed, and leave the hospital as planned just a few hours later, I needed to walk on my own around the ward. Problem was, I couldn’t really talk.
“It doesn’t look like you have had any pain medicine for a long time. Let me see about getting you a Tylenol or something a bit stronger.” my nurse said.
Determined, I sat up and made progress to stand. I did not think I could walk around the ward, but I wanted to stand, even though I was in a ton of pain. My wife Mindy helped me to sit on the side of the bed. She asked me how I felt.
“I think I am at 10% right now.” I replied.
As I rose to my feet I could sense some wobble in my knees. Painful gas from the surgery moved into my shoulders. I stood as tall as I could and I took a step. And then another. And another. Each step I remained focused on the step itself. I did not think about walking around the ward or if and when my pain meds would arrive. ‘Hopefully it would be something stronger than Tylenol’ I thought.
When I made it back to my bed the medicine had arrived. My subsequent walks around the ward were a billion times easier! But the principal I was learning is called the principle of 100%. Always give 100% of what you have to give. My capacity at the time was 10% of what I could normally give, but it was necessary for me to try to give 100% of that small amount of personal fortitude that I could muster at the moment.
Day After Day: Compound Results
Day after day I rose and was strengthened. I was off of the meds as soon as I got home. Well, except for the Tylenol. Day after day I would feel a little better. My goals each day were important. I also had a short term goal to walk my normal routine (3 miles a day) within 2 weeks of surgery. Crushed that one!
Sometimes you feel sick. You may have a blue moment in life. We all do. Life may cause you to have a lower threshold of performance than would be your ideal performance state. In these instances it is crucial that you give 100% of what you can in the moment. Do not consider the outcome. Don’t focus on how you got to that low. Stay in the moment. If you do, the best result possible will await you and that is what we should be shooting for in any results we attain: the best result possible.
Daily #BGT goals lead to achieving your short term goals. Next Monday I will explain how to manage your short term goals as a part of the Be Great Today philosophy! If you enjoy hearing about my philosophy HMU at [email protected]. Find out more about Life Coaching and why everyone needs a coach!
Happy Monday!
