Nearly 50% of all college grad students seeking a PHD fail to achieve their goal. What stops them short? They don’t complete their dissertation. Just the thought of something so big can be overwhelming. So what happens? They avoid, escape, and procrastinate working on the project. After all, they have a year. What is the rush? The time passes, the days dwindle, crunch time comes, and they give up.
Author and speaker Henry Cloud found himself in such a dilemma when he was in grad school. He reached the point where he had to begin his dissertation, and he froze. He just couldn’t get going.
Not wanting to be a member of the 50% casualty group, he took action…He bought an ant farm. He put the farm together and added the ants. Soon, every ant was in motion. Each one would carry sand one grain at a time to just the right spot. They each clearly knew the end result and each step needed to get there. Dr. Cloud was amazed at what those little ants did in such a short time.
If an ant can manage time so well, why can’t we? Do we know clearly our end result? Have we taken the time to plan exactly how we will get there? And now, here comes the “biggie”…Can we discipline ourselves to do things one step at a time and not be distracted?(emails, phone calls, checking sports scores). To achieve our goal, let’s borrow the fundamentals displayed in an ant’s behavior:
Begin with a clear picture of what we want.
Make detailed plans that involve specific steps.
Commit to doing each step in order (Single Daily Action)
Stay focused and don’t allow ourselves to be distracted.
