I do it to myself. I tend to take on more than I should, and lately has been no exception.
A few weeks ago, I was dealing with big problems from different parts of my life all at once. We weren’t where we wanted to be on the County’s budget, and we were wrestling with several big decisions at TriState Graphics. Every one of them was going to take far more work than I had planned — weeks in some cases, months in others. And to be honest, I was feeling spent and overwhelmed.
When stress piles up like that, it feels like my entire nervous system is on fire. It’s a terrible feeling, and not one I like to keep around for long.
Over the past few years, I’ve become a big believer in meditation. It clears my mind and reduces my stress. But I’ve found another benefit too. Clearing my mind makes room for novel solutions — not the kind that come from dwelling on a problem, but the kind that suddenly come into focus out of nowhere.
That’s where my “Win the Day” mantra came from.
Instead of dwelling on problems and gameplanning all the work that has to happen weeks or months from now, just focus on winning today. This isn’t a novel idea, apparently, as there is a book by Mark Batterson on the subject.
Now, when I wake up, I ask myself: what do I need to do to win today? What does that look like? Then I go execute.
I don’t worry about next week. I don’t worry about next month. I just focus on today. Taking this approach brings a lot less stress. And I’ve been pleasently surprised with how many days actually go in the ‘W’ column.
If I can win three or more days in a work week, I can win the week. Stringing a few weeks together wins me the month. And so on. But it starts–and ends–with today.
Win the day.