Slay That Dragon!
January 1st, 2024
By Stephen Doherty
“Nothing can squelch your fire except turning your back on the thing that fuels it!” –Richelle E. Goodrich
As we head into this new and exciting year – which is always colored with any number of assertive goals, objectives, resolutions, etc., I am reminded of all of the motivational and inspirational books I have consumed throughout my life. During this fabulous holiday season, I have contemplated and recalled some of the great lessons and success drivers from some of the greatest motivational and success authors ever. I wanted something to provide the appropriate filter to my 2024 achievement aspirations. I think I found it in Stephen Covey’s, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I had forgotten how good this book was and the “Habit” that I am re-adopting for the coming year is “Put First Things First!”
In short, what this “Habit” entails is the identification/selection of the largest task or objective you have in front of you for the day – and making completion of that action-item your priority. The first thing you do for the day. The #1 activity that would free you up to then knock off the smaller and easier ones. Brian Tracy called it, “Eat That Frog” under the guise of ingesting and chewing the worst thing on your plate first – knowing the rest will be easy by comparison. Once Goliath was knocked off – the rest of the battle became comparatively easy. Each one of us has a dragon in their day in need of slaying. For me – in 2024, that will be pre-dawn weight room visits and cardio. Everyone has a different dragon and the common ground we all share is the need to engage it and defeat it.
The single best metaphor I’ve ever seen to underscore this premise is Covey’s use of a large jar, large rocks, small rocks, gravel, sand, and water – to underscore his emphasis on prioritization. The large rocks represent the most important things in life, such as family, health, and personal growth, while the pebbles and sand represent less important things, such as work, hobbies, and entertainment.
By prioritizing the large rocks first, one can ensure that they are not overlooked or neglected in the midst of other less important activities. Once the large rocks are in the jar, the gravel, sand , and water fill in the gaps and margins. Reverse the order, and you end up with a jar full of pebbles and sand with the large rocks orphaned outside of it. We can all relate, especially in this high-tech age, of getting to the end of a very busy day, only to discover we hadn’t actually accomplished or produced anything of value. Busy but not productive.
As we all forge ahead into 2024 – let us not open that door and walk through into the New Year gently or with anxiety or hesitation. Let us kick that door down, walk through it confidently, fueled by mission and purpose – and seek out the toughest, biggest and baddest items on our respective lists of 2024 goals and objectives. Get serious about prioritizing and putting “first things first!” Because if the dragon wins … you lose.
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist,
but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” -Neil Gaman