“Great achievers have one thing in common: They have the ability to focus on vital priorities and cause those priorities to happen” – Charles Hobbs
In the world of executive coaching, “Modeling” is an attribute we all must have. “Modeling” is a coaching term for, “Practice what you preach”. Sometimes it can be downright uncomfortable. Here is an example:
It was 8:00 am last Friday. I walked into my office to start my day. My desk was clear with one exception: There was a fresh sheet of paper, and written on it was my A-1 priority for the day. By A-1, I mean that this was the most important thing I needed to do in the moment I was in. I knew it because I had properly planned and prioritized. It was truly the most important thing I needed to do, but there was one problem: I didn’t want to do it. The task was to write a training plan for a client. If I didn’t do it today, I would be procrastinating something very important. I tried to talk myself out of it. I said to myself, “I’m not in the mood. I don’t feel creative now, and it wouldn’t be my best work. I think I will put this off until another time”. Then the voice of my self-discipline came in: “Steve, is this the most important thing?” (“Yes, but if I did it now, I don’t think it would be my best work”) “You know this is what you should be doing. Do it. Who cares if it is not your best work. You will have written it, and will have plenty of time to refine it” (All right…you win)
Of course, I did it, and felt great afterwards. I was reminded of the ironclad ingredient of success: Self-discipline. That means always doing the most important thing we should be doing, even when we don’t feel like it. It works!
