Success demands that we decide what we want and go after it with unwavering faith. The problem is that there still needs to be some room for flexibility. Most people are flexible about the destination and stubborn about the path to get there. When in reality, what we need to be is strict to the destination but flexible in the way to get there.
For example, you could want to be a doctor and always wanted that since you are a little kid. You need to hold on tight to that destination. The path may not look the way you expect, though. Travel the world for a bit for some perspective, or you work before going to med school. It could take you a few tries to pass the boards, you never know. The key is that you don't let go of that destination. It does not matter if you are trying to start a healthy morning routine, or become The President of the United States. The rules are the same.
Success demands that we decide what we want and go after it with unwavering faith. The problem is that there still needs to be some room for flexibility. Most people are flexible about the destination and stubborn about the path to get there.
Don't Be Stubborn With Your Ideas
It has now become the norm to have no idea what the destination is. Ask students in school today where they want to be in a few years, and you will get a swift shoulder shrug.
It's more okay than ever to start college with no idea what you are there for. Institutions of higher learning want your money so bad that they are okay with you having no clue.
Would you ever get in your car and start driving for hours with no destination? People would call you insane if you did this often. Even Google Maps does not work right unless you know your destination.
We can't travel to where we want to be unless we know where we are going. You need to have a destination locked into your mind. Then you can start evaluating different options on how to get there.
Most people are flexible to the destination but stubborn to the path. It should be the other way around. You should remain stubborn on the destination but be flexible on the way there.
Be Flexible To Find Your Path Instead of Being Stubborn to Failure
There are so many circumstances that can get in our way in life and make the path to success look different. Don't become stubborn to one path.
They swear the road to success is through college, yet they have no idea why they are even there. It does not make sense to invest time into a path and swear it is the correct path when you have no idea where you are going.
- Decide where you want to go and be definitive about this
- Check the best way to get there
When people are not definitive about where they want to go, it makes the path unclear. You see this all the time on college campuses. People go in and switch majors five times because they have no idea what they want to and what they want for their life.
The only thing they are sure about is the path, and that path is that college is the right thing for them. Does this make any sense? How can you love a path but not know the destination?
How Habit Stacker Stayed Flexible to The Path
When I started Habit Stacker (originally WeWake), I had a mission that I was definite about. I wanted to help people to start their day on fire.
As a former Olympic athlete, I always got up early to train. I understood the benefits of doing things in the morning that set the rest of the day up for success. Once I retired from track and field, I started waking up at 3:10 AM for a variety of reasons. Having a healthy morning routine changed my life.
The first reason was from realizing how much I could do by getting up much earlier than most people. It allowed me to get much more done with my day when I started each day right. I was finding the power of my mission and destination.
After years of this, I realized that I had to start helping other people to do the same thing. I had my destination, but I was flexible to the path to get there. At first, I was sure that the best way to do this would be helping people with workouts in the morning.
After looking more into it, I realized that there are a million workout apps. I ended up reading a book, and one thing it talked about is the reason people pick up their phones all day.
The book stated that the average person picks up their phone 150 times a day. It then broke down the reason for each of those reasons. One thing that jumped off the page to me was the fact that the alarm clock accounted for about nine pickups a day.
When I thought about that, I felt like there was a massive opportunity in this area. Most people would use their default iPhone or Android alarm clocks. There had to be room to create something much better.
The Path Started To Get Real Messy
We were sure that building an alarm clock was the way, but we overlooked one significant fact. For an alarm clock to work well with the iPhone, it needs to work on Do Not Disturb.
Find a way to do this better than the iPhone standard alarm proved to be a massive challenge. Now that is not to say that you should back down from challenges. You do need to start asking if you are becoming stubborn to the way.
I realized that I was after a while. We kept struggling to get the alarm working right, and I was getting pissed off about it. I wanted the path I chose to be right.
One day I stepped back from the project and started to think about why I started this. My mission was to help people start their day on fire. The alarm clock was only ONE way to go about doing that.
I realized I needed to change the name to Habit Stacker and focus in on building bad habits. Anyone with good habits knows how to take make the most of their morning. But the morning is only one part of the day. You want to have good habits throughout the day and year.
Find The Best Path For Where You Are To Achieve The Mission
To find the BEST path, it requires staying in touch with your mission. You also need to be realistic about where you are. You can never get directions to a destination if you are not honest about where you are starting from. If you lie about your current destination, you will end up lost.
What this means is that the path can change a lot, and that is okay. Do not give up on your destination.
Each time the path changes, you have to remind yourself that you will commit to getting there in the best way. When you become stuck on a road, you accept that your stubbornness and ego matter more than your mission.
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