Success is about making small adjustments.   

In 1983 Korean Airliner 007 took off from from New York City headed to Anchorage Alaska and then on to Seoul Korea.  When the plane took off from Anchorage, there was an error of about 1 degree in the flight plan, and that 1 degree difference had a huge impact on that flight and the fate of the 269 people on board. 

Korean Flight 007 accidentally flew into Russian Airspace where it was shot down by Soviet fighter jets, and everyone on board lost their lives.

It was a tragic day, and a tragic mistake.  1 degree meant the difference between life and death for all those people.

At first, 1 degree may not seem that significant.  However continuing on the same course, 1 degree took that plane further and further away from where it really wanted to go.

I’m reminded that success in life doesn’t require perfection, it just requires adjustments.  If Korean flight 007 had made a slight adjustment at the beginning of the flight it would have never flown into Soviet airspace. 

In life, it’s easy to drift a little off course.  If you don’t make an immediate correction then you get a little further off course.  The longer you wait to adjust, the harder it is to get back on track.

Getting where you want to be in life comes down to one thing:  Choices! 

You get to make decisions every single day that effect the outcome of your life. It’s not the circumstances you are in that matter most, it’s the decisions you make that matter most.   Every day you make decisions that will keep you going in the direction you want to go, or decisions that will take you further away from where you want to go.

It's not the circumstances you are in that matter most, it's the decisions you make that matter most. Share on X

And these decisions are often small, seemingly unimportant ones.  But success in life is always found in the small, daily decisions that you make.

We are getting ready to enter a new year….a new decade!  People all over the world will set new years resolutions and studies have shown that the majority of them won’t keep them.

Why not? What will happen? 

Most people will drift away from their goals.  They’ll miss one workout, which will lead to two and then three and eventually they are not going to the gym any more.  They’ll have one bad day with their diet and then it will turn in to two and then three and then they are right back to eating unhealthy like before.  They’ll spend a few two many dollars here and there, and then it snowballs into more!

What happens is, people slowly drift away from what they want most.

It’s the small, daily decisions that really matter. 

When you have a bad day, miss a workout, cheat on your diet, spend a little too much money, snap at your spouse….stop and think, and make an adjustment.

Get back on course!

It takes discipline and being intentional.  Discipline is doing what you have to do when you have to do it, whether you feel like it or not.  It’s giving up want you want at the moment for what you want most.

Discipline is doing what you have to do when you have to do it, whether you feel like it or not. Share on X

You’ve got what it takes to make 2020 your best year yet, because of the choices you are going to make.  Small, correct choices over time add up. 

You have to keep making those decisions, keep making those adjustments even when you don’t see results.   You see, this is where a lot of people continue  to drift.  It’s because they don’t get an immediate reward, or see an immediate consequence for their decision.

If you had one bite of a chocolate cake you knew you really shouldn’t have, and your stomach immediately added an extra couple of inches you’d probably forego the pleasure of the cake to keep that waistline in check. 

If you did 50 sit-ups and immediately dropped 10 pounds and saw a ripped 6 pack in the mirror you’d do sit-ups all day long.

But we don’t usually see immediate results in life and we don’t always experience immediate consequences.  Keep going anyway!  Keep making adjustments.  Continue making the right decisions and get back to the path you know you want to be on!

A huge key to success is being consistent!  Eventually, with consistency and continual adjustments you will reap the rewards of your hard work. 

Most people give up too soon.  But that’s not YOU!  Many people in 2020 will get close to reaching their goals, but will get just 1 degree off.  If they would simpl adjust, and get back on track they will see the results they want.  You determine the kind of person you will be in 2020 by the decisions you make.

Here’s another way to look at the difference one degree makes.

At 211 degrees, water is hot!  At 212 degrees water boils.  But it doesn’t boil at 211, only when it hits 212.  The power of 212 degrees is that with boiling water comes steam, and with steam you can power a locomotive!

Even though 211 degrees is extremely hot, the steam engine needs one more degree to move.  Until it hits 212 it’s not going anywhere.

Maybe that’s where you are in your life at the end of 2019.  Maybe you feel like you’re close to success…you’re close to being the person you want to be…you’re close to having the relationships you want to have…close to reaching the goals you’ve set.

Keep going, keep grinding until you hit 212!

This is going to be your year!  Claim it, see it, believe it, and make moves to make it happen. 

Don’t underestimate the power of 1 degree.  Make adjustments, get back on track immediately.  If you’re at 211 in your life, keep going until you get to 212.  1 degree makes a difference. 

You’ve got what it takes!

Gary

Want to connect with Gary? Use the form below to email, or leave a comment to this post at the bottom of the page.