Adopt this principle every day of the year for continued success
If you still haven’t started your New Year’s resolutions, you’re in the right place.
It’s not too late.
And you’re not alone.
Regardless of the day, or month, it isn’t over yet.
There is still time to get started, even if you’re reading this in the middle of July. Because the thing is, it’s always Day 1. Every day presents the opportunity, the possibility, to get started, to take a step forward, to ask yourself: What can I do today to move my life, my work, myself, forward?
During my time at Amazon, I experienced the embodiment of this principle day-in and day-out.
It was one of the most applicable principles I learned while working at Amazon.
It almost became an inside joke among teammates as we reminded each other that “it’s always Day 1” when someone was coming up against a challenge, a blocker, or having a difficult day. Of course, this was a nod to Jeff Bezos’ shareholders letter where he always signed off “...It remains Day 1” with his very first shareholders letter from 1997 following. Bezos believed that by seeing everyday as the first in business, he was cultivating a culture that would remain in start-up mode: agile, experimental, and flexible - key ingredients to growing a business over the long term in a fast-paced, ever-changing world.
There are dates in the calendar that carry a certain significance: birthdays, back to school, and the aforementioned first day of the year. They create an inevitable expectation to do more, to be better; to question if we’re doing anything “right” at all. We feel equally inspired to take action as we feel the need to hide under the weight of overwhelm.
But the truth is, change, growth, and transformation are not the product of a flip of the calendar, but rather incremental steps forward over time.
Whether the focus is on your business or yourself, new results require new actions each and every day.
To overlook the date on the calendar and approach every day as The Day, or, Day 1.
Focusing on the past keeps us trapped there: in the overthinking, ruminating, and idling. When we recommit to ourselves, we reconnect to the present and it opens us to what’s yet to be created, in other words, to our future. It shifts our mindset into one of creation and innovation rather than reaction and inaction; the latter confining us to a Day 2 mentality.
When we approach every day as Day 1, we unlock new ideas, new thinking, new possibilities.
It keeps us away from complacency and moves us into actively participating in our lives. We step into agency, believing that we have the ability to make things happen while taking responsibility for our choices. It creates space for us to check-in with what’s working and what’s not so that we can repeat, remove, or pivot a process, habit, or behaviour.
This is not to take away from goal setting or creating resolutions altogether. After all, when we’re clear on what we want, we can focus our energy towards the actions that will move us forward and accelerate our path to success.
What we focus on grows.
“Although only 46% of people who set resolutions consider themselves successful after six months, ONLY 4% (!) of people who set similar goals without a resolution consider themselves successful.” ~ Brian Johnson, inspired by Goals! by Brian Tracy
Rather than obsessing and worrying over New Year’s resolutions, what if you started with a New Day? What if each day was an opportunity to get started? To make a new resolution? To begin again?
With a NEW day, comes an opportunity to make a NEW commitment, and to take a NEW action.
And as always,
It remains Day 1.
Kirsten Schmidtke is a professional coach, speaker, and lover of lake life. She works with leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs to help them up-level their careers, businesses, and lives. Are you ready to explore what’s possible for you? Contact Kirsten to start the conversation!
