Being drawn to the dramatic, I don’t have much cause to use the word ‘diligent’. ‘Slow and steady wins the race’ – well if you say so, but I won’t be buying tickets for the movie. Surely it’s all about passion, vision, desire, guts and glory – that’s what heroes are made of.
Nope. It’s diligence. Consistent incremental, repeated behaviour change. The process is far more effective than passion.
If we want to pursue opportunity, we have to put ourselves in opportunity’s way. We need to be ready, to have done our homework and laid the groundwork.
I still meet people who say ‘Oh I wish I could play the piano/speak Japanese/write a book’. Wishing it doesn’t make it so. What you need is diligence. Moving forward relentlessly. One foot in front of the other. Athletes win races because of all the practice they do every single day.
Consistency is not something all of us find easy. But it’s what works. If you refuse to stop moving forward, it’s inevitable you’ll get there.
So even if you can’t move forward much today, just move forward a little. Just know you have not stopped or fallen back.
The momentum was maintained. You were diligent. Good for you!
