Imagine if you will that you are stuck in a canyon and the only way out is up. A long winding path, slowly snaking up a treacherous cliff side and extremely steep. The long climb is in the direct sunlight and the sweltering heat is just sapping all of your strength. You must get out of the canyon, that is an absolute so you are faced with two possibilities. First, you can just sit here and stare at the climb before you or Second, you can just start climbing, no matter how slow, just one foot in front of another. In this case the answer is obvious, some progress is better than no progress. Even if you are incredibly slow, you will take the forward progress. This is an extreme condition, and thus makes the decision easier, however this same dilemma is present in our everyday lives.
There are days when we just do not want to do anything, or the climb ahead of us seems far to steep and difficult. We also have the same choice before us, even thought it may not be as easily seen. We can choose do do nothing, or we can, even if our progress is slow, decide to put one foot in front of another and accomplish something. I firmly believe that it is when your bad days produce progress that you are truly succeeding. It is easy to earn progress on your good days. However, when you are able to see progress happen on everyday, that is when you climb becomes steady and sure.
This same attitude goes for seemingly impossible tasks. You may never find a day when you will sit down and accomplish it all, however, you can start today. Even if your progress is slight, it will be progress. You can slowly inch your way along the path today, and tomorrow and before you know it you will have built up some significant progress. The daunting task ahead of you will not seem so difficult anymore. So rather then laying around moaning on the fact that you have a hard task to do, just pick up a piece of that task and do it right now. You do not have to do the whole thing, or even do a good job. Just do something, then you will find in a few days things look and feel much better. It is because you decided to something rather than nothing. Some is always better than none.
It is when your default action is to choose to do something, rather than nothing that you have truly found the secret to progress. Contrary to popular belief, the giant leap forward does not occur on that one amazing fluke result, it is the slow and steady pursuit of progress that happens everyday.
Guy Reams
