Have you ever felt like you’re pushing and hustling really hard but nothing is happening? Sweat is rushing down your face, the sounds of the people around you get louder somehow, and in the middle of it all you begin to wonder why you’re even doing this anyways! If you can relate to that then you are not alone. Countless of people are starting and stopping new activities everyday, whether it be building social media accounts, learning a new skill, (and my personal favourite) working out. They stop because they don’t see result…quickly…and then they think their effort is going to waste.
I used to be exactly like that. Growing up, I was your typical "fat kid". Picture me with my black shorts, blue dress shirt with the second button tight and the third loose because I couldn’t quite pin it because my belly was big. I had a silver and red lunch box where I carried basically enough treats to feed my friends. I was a "fat kid" until I decided that enough was, enough. One night, I stood in my mirror and looked at my figure. I held my overlapping gut and stretched it down until I could see what looked like where my abs were suppose to be and I made a DECISION. In that moment I decided that I was going to become my strongest, and most aesthetic self. The rest is history. I have rock solid abs and a pretty good figure now but that only happen because I made a small shift.
I want to bring this concept to you using a story told by peak performance coach, Tony Robbins. The story went something like this….
I was out one day playing golf with my new instructor and I kept swinging at the golf balls and blasting past the flag everytime. As time went by I got worse and worse, and he just stood there laughing! I told him he was terrible teacher. I mean cmon. I know I’m no good but I should at least be consistent at whatever suckish level I’m at. Then finally, he said "You’re only one millimeter off." I told him he’s crazy, I was miles from the hole! Then he said "Really Tony, you’re only one millimeter off." And he explained to me that when you hit the ball one millimeter off, at first it may even be noticable but as the ball travels at that "off angel " the further it goes, the wider the gap between the ball and the hole. And I thought wow! What a great metaphor: that when things are going terribly wrong in.your life you may just be one millimeter off from hitting your target.
I agree with Tony and I’ve seen this in my own life: with my health, my relationship, and my career.
The message is pretty clear. What is an area of your life that you would like to improve? If you’re working hard but seeing very little results don’t give up!
You may just be one millimeter away!