The painstaking work of change happens in the moments that comprise the hours, the hours that build the days, the days that make up the months, and the months that form the years of our lives.

When you add it all up, where we begin is never where we end. Everything comes to an end, but not everyone finishes where they want to. Where we end and how we finish are determined by the direction and rate of our growth. The multiplication of our speed along the journey can be broken down into the millions of decisions we make over the course of time. Each decision has a bearing (some more than others) on the type of person we become and where we finish the race.

Growth is gradual because the small fractional movements towards better or worse are imbedded in our daily decisions. Each decision we make pushes us towards becoming a type of person we are going to become.

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Let me explain. If you eat a piece of fruit every single day for an entire year, you are building the identity of someone who chooses to eat fruit instead of candy. Added up over time, after many years of the same decision, these choices form you into the type of person who either becomes fat or skinny, healthy or unhealthy.

Growth is gradual because a single decision is limited in the scope and power of its influence; but a bunch of decisions, added up, over time, will have a massive effect on who you become.

Take the case of choosing to exercise. It is possible to wake up one day and decide that you’re going to work out every single day for the next year. But here’s the thing, you still have to make the choice to uphold that commitment each time you “re-decide” to put on your workout clothes and go the gym.

The process of becoming is found in the courage to make the choice to uphold your prior commitment to on an ongoing basis. Growth is the gradual, consistent, unrelenting process of reaffirming your commitment each time you’re challenged to make a choice.

The process of change consists in building up your potential through the power of your will. The power inside of you is supercharged each time you reaffirm your convictions with the millions of small actions you make each day. In other words, you are constantly building who you want to become with how you decide to act.

The identity of who you are in the present is always determined by the decisions you made in the past and the person you become in the future is a result of everything you do TODAY. A better future starts right now. Attack the day in a way that your future self will appreciate. Don’t delay, the time to get started is now.

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Growth is Gradual

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Each day, there is one single decision that stares each of us in the face. The decision that lies before each of us is the question of excellence. The question of excellence can not be broken down into component parts. It can not be divided into sub-goals or part-time aspirations. Rather, the single decision we all have to make is whether we have the courage, conviction, and toughness to walk the path of excellence.

I want to encourage each of you to make the decision TODAY that will help you stay the course tomorrow (or next week, next month, or next year!) when you come across a difficult part in your journey. Once the decision is made, there is no turning back. Once the decision is made you will have no choice but to continue pushing through the frustration and obstacles that stand in your way.

Here’s what the former Men’s National Gymnastics team Coach had to say about the single decision that we are all faced with (excerpt from Tim Ferris’ Book, Tools of Titans):

Dealing with the temporary frustration of not making progress is an integral part of the path towards excellence. In fact, it is essential and something that every single elite athlete has had to learn to deal with. If the pursuit of excellence was easy, everyone would do it. In fact, this impatience in dealing with frustration is the primary reason that most people fail to achieve their goals. Unreasonable expectations timewise, resulting in unnecessary frustration, due to a perceived feeling of failure. Achieving the extraordinary is not a linear process. The secret is to show up, do the work, and go home. A blue collar work ethic married to indomitable will. It is literally that simple. Nothing interferes. Nothing can sway you from your purpose. Once the decision is made, simply refuse to budge. Refuse to compromise. And accept that quality long-term results require quality long-term focus. No emotion. No drama. No beating yourself up over small bumps in the road. Learn to enjoy and appreciate the process. This is especially important because you are going to spend far more time on the actual journey than with those all too brief moments of triumph at the end. Certainly celebrate the moments of triumph when they occur. More importantly, learn from defeats when they happen. In fact, if you are not encountering defeat on a fairly regular basis, you are not trying hard enough. And absolutely refuse to accept less than your best. Throw out a timeline. It will take what it takes. If the commitment is to a long-term goal and not to a series of smaller intermediate goals, then only one decision needs to be made and adhered to. Clear, simple, straightforward. Much easier to maintain than having to make small decision after small decision to stay the course when dealing with each step along the way. This provides far too many opportunities to inadvertently drift from your chosen goal. The single decision is one of the most powerful tools in the toolbox.
Christopher Sommer

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The Single Decision

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