A Journey of a Thousand Miles

A Journey of a Thousand Miles

‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’

 

Most people are aware and fully understand this saying attributed to Lau Tse in the Tao Te Ching. It reminds us that even the longest and most difficult ventures have a starting point, something which begins with the first step.

 

Over the years it is almost certainly my most quoted piece of ‘advice’ when talking to those looking for some kind of Performance Improvement. The advice is generally broken down into several steps that in simple terms look like this

1. Know where you want to go.

   1. What does Improved Performance look like for you?

   2. How will you know when you have achieved it?

       

2. Take the all-important first step

   1. Doing something is a lot better than doing nothing – Motivation comes from taking action.

   2. Make the first step small and easy to accomplish

       

3. Keep moving

   1. Keep moving forward consistently but control your pace and don’t forget to take breaks along the way

   2. Keep your head up to make sure you are still on the right track

Speaking personally I tend to be good at stages 1 & 2 but at stage 3 can easily fall into the traps of impatience, over enthusiasm and competition. Unless I am careful I can get burnt out through not pacing myself very well and/or finding myself in a place ‘off track’, I didn’t need or want to be because I hadn’t taken the time to look up.

So whilst this may be one of the most common quotes used in Personal and Professional Development, it is so for good reason – It is good advice!

If any of the above resonates with you and/or your people, get in Contact and let’s see if we can help you wherever you are on your Performance improvement journey.