by Michelle Fav | Featured Contributor
This time last year, I wanted so badly to start a blog. It would gnaw at me as I scanned Facebook before bed, during my lunch break at work and even when I was grabbing a bite with friends. I would write an article here and there, thinking it would help me with my goal setting. I never made any significant headway, until finally I decided to commit completely and just do it. Fast forward to today, I’m approaching the six month mark on my blog for fitness instructors, GroupXFitnessTips.com, and a lot of anxiety about my blog has gone away.
At first, it surprised me that I no longer give myself so much heartache over blogging. Then, I stumbled upon Susie Moore’s 100-percent rule (that she learned from Jack Canfield) and it felt like a lightbulb went off in my head.
The 100-percent Rule
According to Susie, “[I]t’s our well-meaning ‘99-percent effort’ that is exhausting. It consumes energy without producing results. It’s stressful. It makes us feel like a failure when we’re not—we just haven’t fully committed to something. Putting 99-percent effort into things that matter in life means we are constantly falling short of our potential—and feeling bad about it.”
With that mindset, 100-percent effort is easy. Once you’ve made a project or goal a priority, you no longer have to weigh your options. The decision is made for you — you work on that goal.
That’s exactly how I felt when I was trying to start my blog. I would waste so much time feeling guilty for not working on my blog and anguished that I wasn’t “good enough”. Once I committed to posting two articles a week no matter what, I removed a lot of anxieties about writing.
3 Tips to Apply The 100-percent Rule in Your Life
Don’t wait for the perfect moment.
Oftentimes we talk about our goals as if they hinge on this perfect situation. For example, I’m not going to go to a fitness class or even step foot in the gym until I’ve lost 10 pounds. Mine was that I wasn’t going to start my blog until I had the perfect URL and a handful of posts ready.
And, some of that preparation is useful when goal setting. But, more often than not we use that as an excuse not to really start something, and then it gets stuck in 99-percent effort and a whole lot of frustration.
With fitness, blogging or other common goals, you just have to get started. None of these goals are the type you achieve overnight, so just getting started putting the effort will help you be well on your way.
Go 100 percent on only one goal at a time.
Most entrepreneurs and side hustlers are constantly goal setting. But, the beauty of 100 percent, is you can only give one thing 100 percent of your effort.
So, choose wisely and stick with that one goal until you’ve crossed it off or it becomes a habit.
Plan around your goal.
Carve out space in your calendar for your goal, and don’t let anything make you change that schedule. That’s 100-percent effort: sacrificing other responsibilities or obligations for your goal.
I know giving 100-percent effort sounds scary, but in actuality, it removed so much anxiety for me around goal setting for my blog. The starting point is usually the hardest part, so join me in committing to 100 percent and never looking back.
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Michelle Fav, PR expert, group fitness instructor and blogger behind GroupXFitnessTips.com.
I have a wide range of interests, but what’s been keeping me up at night lately? My search to find the perfect song to pair with a group exercise routine. I feel on fire when the beat drops in my fitness class and the entire room is moving deafeningly in sync with the music.
My blog GroupXFitnessTips.com brings together fitness instructors from all walks of life to inspire, encourage and learn from each other. When I’m not at the gym, you can find me crafting corporate stories at my day job in public relations (PR).
Coupling my passion for fitness with my professional obsession with communications, I have an array of expertise to share with you, such as branding strategies, blogging 101 tips and healthy living advice for busy entrepreneurs.
Follow me on Twitter (@GroupXMich) and Facebook (GroupXMich).
