How Do I Get 1% Better Today?
The Answer: Just Do It.
When it comes to our own growth—physical, mental, spiritual, professional, relational, or anything else—most of us already know what we need to do. The problem usually isn’t a lack of knowledge. It’s a lack of action. We know we should exercise. We know we should eat better. We know we need more sleep, more water, more time with our family, more time in prayer, more reading, and probably a little less time staring at our phones. We know we should show up earlier, work a little harder, make that phone call, take the class, or finally pursue the opportunity we’ve been thinking about. Most of the time, we don’t need somebody to tell us what to do. We already know.
The problem is that we are really good at talking ourselves out of doing it. Think about the conversation that takes place inside your head every day. We have thousands and thousands of thoughts, and many of them are negative and repetitive. If we aren’t intentional, our mind can become an excuse-making machine. I’m tired. I’ll do it tomorrow. I don’t have enough time. It won’t make that much difference. I’ve had a long day. I deserve to take today off. Give yourself enough time to think about something difficult or inconvenient, and you can probably come up with a pretty convincing reason not to do it.
That’s why I’ve been thinking about how powerful it could be to train ourselves to answer those thoughts with three simple words: JUST DO IT. I should go to the morning workout… Just Do It. I should show up early for practice or work… Just Do It. I should get an extra workout in today… Just Do It. I don’t feel like eating healthy… Just Do It. I know I should study another 30 minutes… Just Do It. I need to spend more intentional time with my family… Just Do It. I don’t feel like reading tonight… Just Do It. I don’t feel like writing in my gratitude journal… Just Do It. I know I need to get to bed earlier… Just Do It. I should drink more water… Just Do It. I need to make that phone call I’ve been putting off… Just Do It. I should apologize… Just Do It. I should tell somebody how much I appreciate them… Just Do It. I need to spend some time praying today… Just Do It.
Do you get the point? There is a gap between knowing and doing, and that gap is where a lot of our potential goes to die. The longer we negotiate with ourselves, the more opportunities we create to choose what’s comfortable instead of what’s best. We wait to feel motivated. We wait for the right time. We wait until Monday, next month, or January 1st. But growth doesn’t require perfect circumstances. Sometimes it simply requires us to stop negotiating and start moving.
I’ve learned that some of the most important decisions we make don’t feel very important when we’re making them. Getting up when the alarm goes off doesn’t seem life-changing. Neither does doing one extra rep, reading ten more pages, drinking water instead of something else, putting your phone down at dinner, saying a prayer, going to bed 30 minutes earlier, or showing up ten minutes before everyone else. None of those decisions will transform your life today, but stack enough of them together over weeks, months, and years and something powerful happens. Those little decisions eventually become your life.
That’s really what getting 1% better is all about. It’s not always about discovering some revolutionary new idea. Sometimes it’s simply doing the things you already know you should be doing, and doing them consistently enough for them to make a difference. Knowledge doesn’t change us until it becomes action. Intentions don’t make us better. Execution does.
So here’s my challenge for you this week. Identify one thing you’ve been telling yourself you need to do but haven’t done. You probably already know exactly what it is. Don’t research it for another week. Don’t make another plan. Don’t wait until you feel motivated. Don’t give yourself another excuse.
Just Do It.
Sometimes the answer to the question, “How can I get better today?” isn’t complicated at all.
You already know what to do. Now go do it.
Never Stop Getting Better,
John Perry