Can I be frank with you today? No, I’m not talking about a hot dog frank or changing my name to Frank. I want to be honest with you.
I’ve been struggling with something. I’ve missed the mark multiple times recently.
And I feel guilty about it.
In my writing, I share quite a bit about consistency.
On how we need to be consistent in the way we lead. On how we need to be consistent in the way we treat others. On how we need to be consistent in the way we take care of ourselves.
I’ve failed. In each and every one of these areas.
Monthly, weekly, daily even… I fail. I miss the mark.
You Will Miss The Mark
I hope my confession didn’t come as a shocker to you. It shouldn’t be earth-shattering news.
After all, we’re all human. We all make mistakes.
That’s why you’re going to miss the mark.
You’re going to make poor leadership decisions. You’re doing to disappoint your spouse. You’re going to break your exercise routine.
And, if you’re anything like me, you’re going to feel guilty about it. Maybe even beat yourself up over these failures.
I want to encourage you not to do this.
You don’t have to rip yourself apart because you messed up. You do have to do something.
Readjusting Your Aim
Now that you know failure is going to come your way, you’re prepared to do something about it.
Missing the mark isn’t the end. It’s actually a beginning.
You know you missed the mark! That’s a great thing.
Knowing this tells me, and you, that you know you’re going in the wrong direction. You know that you need to fix some things.
Great!
This means you can begin to adjust your aim so you’re more likely to hit the mark in the future.
How can you do this?
Commit to a schedule: Creating a schedule can be a lifesaver. It allows you to plan out the most important priorities in your life.
You can schedule family time. You can schedule time to learn, and practice, better leadership. You can schedule time to exercise.
These are all times you’re committing as important. Make it so and you will be taking the first steps to hitting the mark.
Practice what you want to get better at: There’s an old adage: Practice makes perfect.
The great thing is, it’s true. The bad thing, it’s not easy.
To get better at your family life or your physical health or leading others, you need to practice. You need to work out muscles, both physical and mental, you may not have worked in quite some time.
That’s okay. You can still practice.
The more you do, the better you’ll get.
Get some accountability: This is an area I’ve seen many leaders struggle with. They don’t want to be accountable to anyone.
Yet we have to. Especially if we want to be better.
Accountability is having someone call us when we’re not pushing towards our goals. They’re the ones who ask the tough questions and dig deep until we’re truthful.
Don’t shrug off having someone hold you accountable. It’s valuable.
Adjusting our aim is painful. It requires you to put yourself out there.
But in doing so, you’re improving. You’re getting closer to the person you want to be. And you’ll be thankful when you hit the mark.
Question: How do you recover after missing the mark? Let’s talk about it in the comment section below.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.