I Don’t Stop When I’m Tired. I Stop When I’m Done

Have you ever been in the gym and thought to yourself, “I’m tired – it’s time to stop”? But you don’t stop. You have a goal to reach.

Maybe it’s the 3-mile mark on the treadmill. Or it could be that 10^th rep on the squat rack. Those times when you don’t give up because you’re tired, because you feel the lactic acid burning in your legs – when you see your goal through to the end, that feeling of accomplishment is one of the best things in the world.

Fatigue is your body’s way of protecting itself. What most people don’t realize is that your body and mind can withstand far more than your brain likes to tell you. Tiredness is like the body’s low-fuel light. You won’t be able to go on forever, but you’ve still got enough miles in the tank to make it to the finish line.

I found the quote in this photo printed on the desk of one of my SEM Project Managers five years ago. That kind of mentality is what I see as the key to success. Once you put yourself into the mindset of not giving up on your mission at the first sign of fatigue or boredom, that behavior will harden into habit.

The Success Killer

While servicing over 230 clients, it’s only natural that we as an organization can get tired. One thing that I urge my employees to avoid is procrastination.

Procrastination is a tricky little habit. At first, it seems like you’re saving energy because you’re putting off this demanding, taxing task. However, more often than not, that task is still leeching your energy away.

When you put off doing something, it’s still there in the back of your mind. You don’t get the relief and satisfaction of having crossed it off. When you’re stressed about a task you keep putting off, you’re left with less willpower to accomplish the rest of your responsibilities, making it easy to procrastinate doing even more things on your list.

You see? It’s a vicious cycle. The best way to avoid this is by buckling down and finishing what you’ve got in front of you. By doing this, we stay on top of client deadlines and have more energy to produce fresh, creative ideas that propel our clients and the industry forward.