Seek Continuous Improvement
Jamie Efaw
VP of Development Services at Young Life | Executive Coach | Retired Military | Beekeeper | Gardener | Author | Speaker
Seek Continuous Improvement
I knew from my very first day on our Incline challenge that I had a long and difficult road ahead of me.?That first day, my time was in the mid-40 minutes. And I was smoked. I was exhausted.
How could I possibly shave fifteen minutes off of my 45-minute time. It seemed like an impossible task.
The reality is that I had to put that discouraging thought out of my head and instead focus on and seek out continuous improvement as a form of encouraging feedback for the time portion of this challenge.
How did I do this?
Despite feeling discouraged by my initial time on the Incline, I knew that I had to focus on continuous improvement to achieve my goal. To accomplish this, I had to change my perspective and approach the challenge in a new way.
First, I had to realize that continuous improvement did NOT mean that I would get faster each time that I climbed the Incline. It just wasn’t going to happen. But I did want my general trend over time to show improvement. Have you ever been on a diet and wanted to lose ten or so pounds? Your weight will fluctuate. You may be down six pounds and then find a couple days later that it is only four and then the next week it is eight. You are trending in the right direction.
Also, I didn’t want to just go by how I felt or what I remembered. So, I made sure to have a method to track over time. For me, I used the fitness app, Strava, which would keep my overall times, my times on different parts of the Incline and show me my trends over time.
This attitude and perspective helped me stay motivated and keep my momentum when progress felt slow or when it seemed I wasn’t improving quickly enough.
It was also this mindset of constant improvement that led to me discover many of the lessons contained in this book. Every time that I would hike, I would try to identify and address potential issues or obstacles that were slowing me down and make the necessary adjustment either on the fly or the next time out.
However, seeking continuous improvement wasn't just about tracking my progress and making adjustments. It also required me to stay open to new tips, tactics, and techniques that could help me achieve my goal. By staying adaptable and flexible, I was able to incorporate new approaches that worked and let go of those that didn't.
Lastly, the mentality of seeking continuous improvement allowed me to stay adaptable and flexible in my approach to my goal. If someone offered me a new tip, tactic or technique, I would try it out. I didn’t feel the pressure to achieve my best time every time out. If the advice worked, I would incorporate it; if it didn’t I would let it go.
In my pursuit of continuous improvement on the Incline, I learned valuable lessons that can be applied to any aspect of life. By staying focused on the goal, tracking progress, staying adaptable, and open to new ideas, we can achieve improvement in any area we choose
领英推荐
This lesson reminds me of the Frederick Nietzsche quote.
The essential thing 'in heaven and earth' is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.
The phrase “long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results” speaks to me of making continuous progress over time resulting in improvement.
What does it say to you?
Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in do season we will reap, if we do not give up.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not yet seen.
Hebrews 6:11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope?for may be fully realized.
Personal Reflection:
What area of your life would you to like see consistent improvement?
What mechanisms or tools can you use to help you see that progress over time?
How will you identify and document either impediments to success and/or techniques for improvement??
For more Life Lessons like this, check out my book, “Lessons from the Incline” available here:?https://lnkd.in/gwma-ptF
Writer, Author, Silversmith
1 年Jimmy V, “Never give up!”
Bedrock Retail, LLC., Independent Consultant/ Full-time Graduate Student
1 年??????????
Entrepreneur
1 年While improvement should be continuous, it does not occur linearly. There is not a single slope heading ever upward and to the right. This expectation -- that improvement will be both immediate and continuous is why we often abandon an otherwise sound approach. What happens in reality is a series of plateaus reached by improvement between the plateaus. The plateaus can be of different durations. We improve, consolidate, add that to our bag of tricks, and venture out again to improve more. I learned to fly an airplane when I was 50 and went from private pilot to instrument to commercial in a series of similar plateaus. I sought out older, tougher instructors (consistent with my learning style and thick skin) and worked toward mastery rather than meeting the minimum requirements. The easiest way to get good at anything is to spend one hour a day working on your profession -- not just reading, but taking notes, absorbing it, thinking about it, discussing it with peers and mentors, and applying it. Every. Single. Day. There are a lot of folks who say they will try this, but there are damn few who stick to it because it is hard. In reality, it's easy, just takes grit and determination and a genuine desire to improve.
Soldier for Life ???? U.S. Army Veteran ?? People-Loving Problem-Solver and Lover of Wicked-Cool Techy Things ??
1 年The essential thing 'in heaven and earth' is that there should be a long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living. This says to me, in the long run, do the thing that makes life worth living. Being a better me today than I was yesterday makes life worth living. As Philippians 3:12?says, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but?I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." ??