As a high achiever, you’re going to hate and love this principle… 😊
Top performing, competitive professionals are notorious for setting MASSIVE personal and professional growth goals and expecting themselves to be able to make enormous shifts in their habits almost overnight (myself included).
After all, we’re high achievers, we should be able to make whatever changes we want because we’re disciplined, determined, and can do anything we put our mind to, right?
Recently I had a client tell me that this coming year he was committed to working out 4x/week, praying with his wife each night before bed, and reading 50 books. He runs a $7M business on its way to $15M this next year, implementing those shouldn’t be that hard right?
Here’s how that conversation went:
Me: How many days a week are you working out now?”
Client: “Zero.”
Me: “How many days a week are you praying with your wife right now?”
Client: “None.”
Me: “How many books did you read this past year?”
Client: “One.”
Me: silence…
Client: “Okay, maybe I should dial those back a bit to start.”
I’m all for ambitious goals. Heck, that’s what I help my clients do, think and chase goals bigger than they ever thought possible.
However, when it comes to changing long-held habits, routines, shifts in thinking/beliefs, or building skillsets – those are often best built the same way compound interest builds; slowly at first, accelerating over time.
When you attempt to make massive changes overnight, you’re setting yourself up for discouragement and feeling like a failure.
You need to implement the 1% Principle
The 1% Principle focuses on small incremental changes that over time, develop a habit or skill that becomes a foundational norm in your world.
It seems slower, but experience has taught me that after 90 days, those who implement this principle are actually MUCH farther ahead of those who set massive personal/professional growth goals out of the gates, but struggle to keep their over-zealous lofty ideals.
If what you want to improve is an action/habit:
Step 1 – Define one area you want to improve
- (i.e., working out, reading books, spending time working ON the business vs “in” it, etc.)
Step 2 – Start with the smallest, most seemingly ridiculous commitment in that direction.
- Commit to something so small you KNOW you can do it no matter what. You should feel silly even calling it a commitment. Don’t carve out 1-3 hrs. a week for something brand new, carve out 5 min. a week or 5 min. a day that you KNOW you can commit to.
*Once you do it, you’ve already won. You can decide if you want to continue to invest in that area.
*This creates compounding tiny wins rather than what we normally do, which is block off 2 hrs. for something we’ve never tried and then get frustrated that we didn’t follow through with something that most people work up to over several months on.
If what you want to improve is a skillset, mindset, way of being, or belief:
Step 1 – Define one area you want to improve
- (i.e., your decisiveness, confidence, trust in your employees, appreciation, presence at home, etc.)
Step 2 – Set up a Rhythm of Reflection
- At the end of your day, ask, what are all the ways in the last 24 hrs. that I grew by 1% in ______ area?
*Taking time to reflect on how it grew 1% each day helps stack small wins and momentum AND when that actually happens, imagine getting 60% better at something in 60 days!
**Doing so also sets your INTENTION on growing in that area into the future, creating even more motivation by having those small wins compound over an extended time.
Take the pressure off.
Give yourself time.
Make massive shifts through progress that’s sustainable.
Make growth enjoyable again.
Follow the 1% Principle…
