The "Everyday Mentality"

The new year brings several thoughts and ideas as we start fresh and reflect on what the previous year brought us. MOST people make new goals or set their sights on a new challenge or goal to obtain. So why are they usually short lived? I have a few theories just based off my personal experience.

When someone waits until the new year to get "re-motivated," a lot of times the feeling of "motivation" dies off because they have not learned how to change in small increments. This is not everyone, but a good number of people. Motivation is a feeling, it comes and goes and a lot of days, even the most successful people do not "feel" motivated. DRIVE is what really sets people apart from others. When you have a significant sense of drive to get to the next level, your level of motivation no longer matters.

For example, take a Soldier training for Special Operations or a course like Ranger School. Both are extremely challenging, and the Soldier knows this. HOWEVER, when their level of drive is high, the mornings they don't "feel" like getting up to train, they still do because the desire to win that day is greater than their feeling to sleep in or slack off. This is why those men are so successful at their job. They do not let their emotions get in the way of their goals. They have the "Everyday Mentality."

In my opinion, the "Everyday Mentality" is simple; what is one small thing you can change today, that will compound on itself day after day until it becomes a habit? I can be hitting the snooze button one less time tomorrow, or running on extra mile or even making an effort to make one person smile. Regardless, the everyday mentality really starts inside your mind. It's not about making huge drastic life changes immediately. Most successful people set large goals for the future and then tailor their "everyday" routine to do small things that will compound into achieving that goal at the later date.

As a Soldier, we are taught to be adaptable, very fast. This works in settings like the military or police/first responder setting; but it does not always work in other worlds. For you all that are service members or first responders, understand that making small changes is still good for you too. As you develop as leaders and teammates in your line of work, remember that being Even Better does not mean being perfect. It means harnessing the everyday mentality and focusing on how to improve yourself little by little each day and over time, you will see drastic improvements in yourself. Do not expect everyday to be great either. You will have hard days or days that just don't work out in your favor. Take those as learning lessons and opportunities to make the next day better.