I should have posted this yesterday but I was so busy, I just couldn’t pull it off. So, I’m pretending that today is the first day of November as far as this next idea is concerned.
I’ve heard a few people mention some personal challenges that they’re taking on for the month of November (fitness challenge, cutting out alcohol, yoga challenge etc) and I find it so odd because as October drew to a close I also had thoughts of starting a personal challenge as well. It hadn’t really formed in my mind until yesterday though when I read this:
The extra mile is a vast, unpopulated wasteland.
Everyone says they go the extra mile. Almost no one actually does. Most people who go there think, “Wait… no one else is here… why am I doing this?” and leave, never to return.
That’s why the extra mile is such a lonely place.
That’s also why the extra mile is a place filled with opportunities.
Be early. Stay late. Make the extra phone call. Send the extra email. Do the extra research. Help a customer unload or unpack a shipment. Don’t wait to be asked; offer. Don’t just tell employees what to do–show them what to do and work beside them.
Every time you do something, think of one extra thing you can do–especially if other people aren’t doing that one thing. But that’s what will make you different.
And over time, that’s what will make you incredibly successful.
It’s part of an article about “9 Things Remarkably Successful People Do” and this last one, the ninth one, struck a chord with me. Obviously the article is more geared toward career than personal life, but the last two lines spoke to me.
Every time you do something, think of one extra thing you can do—especially if other people aren’t doing that one thing. That’s what will make you different. And over time, that’s what will make you incredibly successful.
I like to work my way through a month and when that month is over, look back and make a call on whether or not I did the best that I could do in that 30 days (in all aspects and given varying circumstances). And honestly, October was not a smashing success. It started solid but pretty much crashed and burned right around the 20th. Having a third of the month be so far away from success that I could consider it personal failure is not something I relish. Yes, I realize that two thirds of the month was good and that’s good, but not good enough. I WANT to be different, I don’t want to be average, I LIKE it out in the “extra mile wasteland”, there often is, no one else there.
So, that’s going to be my November personal challenge. Spend as much time in the “extra mile wasteland” as possible. Personal challenges should be challenging, not just another 30 days where you do the same thing that you do every other month however it could be another 30 days where you do the same thing that you should be doing every other month. I’m not going to outline all the facets of what I’m going to do, I know what those things need to be and I will know if I’ve been successful.
It’s 30 days (I’ll start it today and end it on December 1) to be and do the absolute best that I can under all circumstances.
Is there a personal challenge that you’ve been thinking of taking on for the next 30 days?
Fitty vs Fatty 
I’ll bite…
I’m going to use November to find myself a new fitness routine. Having just officially cancelled my gym membership, I need to find some way to get my exercise at home or from home. At the very least I need to run more regularly, but I would also like to incorporate some lunges, squats and pushups. Maybe some other things? I don’t know.
It’s certainly hard for me to make solid commitments to routines considering the number of wildcards I have in my life, but I’m going to do my best.
xo