I ask myself this question probably 100 times a day, sometimes more, if it’s a particularly challenging day.  When I feel like I’m not getting the results as quickly as I would like, or that I’m stuck in stasis, I take an honest assessment of myself, my motives, and my commitment.

It goes kind of like this:

How good do I want to be? Am I okay with where I am? Do I even want to achieve success in this area of my life?  Why or why not? If I stop doing the work, what is the fallout from stopping? If I’m frustrated with lack of results when I am doing the work, how frustrated will I feel with the lack of results when I’m not doing the work?  Do I really think that laying on the couch, eating Oreos, and watching mindless TV is going to help me sleep better, knowing I am NOT giving my best effort?

That’s really the bottom line, not results, but am I really giving myself, my very best effort? My very best? Really? Couch + Oreos + TV = NOT! (Even if I replace the Oreos with a healthy snack, it’s still a NO).

Only I know when I’m giving my best effort, and only you know if you are giving yourself your best effort.  Deep down, I know I can usually muster up a little more effort.  And if I can, then I must, in order to live with myself.

To tap into that reserve energy, I ask myself, “How good do you want to be?” Anything less than “great”, when I haven’t exhausted my reservoir of energy and effort, is hard to swallow.  I’ve swallowed if before, and it leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, no matter how much I’ve tried to sugarcoat it.

I refuse to phone it in…ever.

Boo Yah!