The Accumulative Effect

Looking into the future is hard. Especially if we are trying to look decades ahead. Trying to figure out what long-term results we will gain from what we choose to do today is even harder. But if we are to work less, achieve more and hit the level of success we say we want, we need to start changing our thinking.

Avoiding or ignoring doing something today won’t have much of an effect but it’s the accumulative effect of that choice that can have a major impact down the road.

 

The “Mindless” Accumulative Effect

For example, eating one candy bar today won’t ruin your life, but if you ate a 200 calorie candy bar every single day for the rest of your life it would have significant consequences.

In just a year that’s 73,000 ‘not-so-good-for-you’ calories which is almost 21 pounds of extra weight you pack on, unless you burn it off of course. It takes about 1 hour of moderate walking to burn 200 calories so you do the math on that.

That candy bar, or soda if that’s more your thing, would erase the hour of exercise you are doing every day in order to stay fit and clear your head so you can be more productive.

Life is too short to not enjoy a candy bar here and there but it’s pretty shocking how doing something every day, that doesn’t seem to be much and that we often do without even thinking, can create such a big accumulate effect.

How Can You Create Positive Accumulative Effect?

Let’s see what turning off the TV for an hour a day can do long-term. If you read a personal development book for that hour, you will have read a total of 91 books in a year based on average reading speed (four hours per 300 page book). Even if you cut that in half you will still have read about 45 books. Imagine where you would be in a year if you read 45 personal development books!

Imagine where you would be if you invested on more hyper focused hour in your business.

Imagine where you would be if you sat down and worked on that book you say you want to write.

Imagine anything that you want to achieve and how far you would be in a year if you just did that one thing for an hour a day. Consistently.

 

Or even 15 minutes a day, which ends up being over 91 hours in a year!

What would it mean for your stress level if you consistently spent 15 minutes a day to stay on top of your accounting, paperwork, customer relationships, or any other often neglected task you normally procrastinate on?

I have days when I don’t feel like doing something that I know will benefit me long-term. It’s in our human nature to think “oh, I’ll do that tomorrow” but it’s that kind of thinking that keeps you where you are. It’s the reason why so many dreams are never fulfilled. Accomplishing your goals isn’t always fun and games, it requires hard work, dedication and persistence.

It requires you to start asking yourself questions like:

“What if I did this [insert behavior, thought, activity] every single day for the rest of my life, would it help me achieve my goal or not?” If the answer is not, then you know what to do!

“If I don’t do this today, like I said I would, how is that congruent with my character and the vision of myself?”

“If I had the future me coming to my door visiting me how do I want that person to be and is what I’m doing today helping me become that person?”

 

“Successful people aren’t born that way. They become successful by establishing the habit of doing things unsuccessful people don’t like to do. The successful people don’t always like doing these things themselves, they just get on and do them.” ~Don Marquis

 

We all want to be successful no matter what our goals are. Join me in being 100% committed to consistently doing things that led us to our greatness, not stealing from it. Let me know what you’re going to change in the comments below or on my Facebook page.

Cheers – Camilla 

 

ps. my two books are on SALE for only 99 cents on Amazon. Go HERE and grab them before the price change on midnight Dec 1, 2015 (affiliate link).