I truly think every principal—every leader—should red
this. Mark Manson is a pretty smart and
candid guy, and he often writes about things that speak to leaders and
leadership. Fair warning: He offends some people
because he has what he calls a “potty mouth.” Not me. I certainly can’t hurl any stones at
that glass house.
This one, titled, “Your Goals are Overrated,” had me
simultaneously cracking up and emphatically nodding my head.
In the article, Manson speaks to the difference between goals and
habits. He discusses how “goals are a
one-time bargain,” but with habits, “there is no single endpoint that must be
reached. The only goal of habits is that
the goal is never over.”
Here's the thing: I feel like every time I set a personal goal, I fail. I feel like I have a goal allergy. I almost rebel against my goals—like I want to fail, almost, in retaliation for the very existence of the stupid goal.
Luckily, habits are more in my wheelhouse. I like habits. They work for me. If I just do something, every day, day after day, it becomes pretty
entrenched in whoever I am. Like
exercise. I’ve done it every day since I
was, like, 12. So it’s never a
struggle. As Manson points out, for me, “it feels harder to not go the gym than it does to go.”
Manson goes into detail about six fundamental habits to
focus on—exercise, cooking, meditation, reading, writing, and socializing—because
these habits provide a “nice foundation for a healthy life in all domains: physically, emotionally, psychologically, and
socially.”
Yup.
I think these things are especially important for leaders,
because leaders often fall into unexpected situations in which they may easily
abandon habits. We don’t exercise right;
we don’t take time to eat slowly or cook for ourselves; we don’t prioritize
reading and writing and socializing outside of work. We really need to, though. We’ve got to just keep doing it, as purely
and with the same mindlessness we give to getting up in the morning.
There’s time for these things, I promise. There’s always time for a good habits.
Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Manson.
Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Manson.
