How to use the two-week rule to become remarkably successful
Two weeks is all it takes to find out what a goal means to you. And what you’re willing to do to achieve it.
Navy SEALs call it the 40 percent rule: When you think you’re done – when your mind says you’re exhausted, fried, totally tapped out – you still have 60 percent left in your tank.
That’s why the plan, process, or routine you create for yourself rarely work. You’re willing to work hard, but not too hard. You’re willing to work long, but not too long. You’re willing to push yourself, but certainly not too hard.
The Two-Week Rule
“Why just the first two weeks?” I asked Jeremiah
“Dude,” he laughed, “First let’s see if you make it through that.”
But later I realized the emotional aspect of the first two weeks was just as important.
After all: You can do anything – you can make any change, or embrace any new routine – for two weeks. (If you can’t, then you’ve clearly chosen a goal that doesn’t mean enough to you.)
If I couldn’t stay the course for two weeks, then I definitely wouldn’t stay the course for three months.
Next Time, Commit to Two Weeks
Pick a goal. Pick something you feel you want to achieve. Create a daily process or routine you will follow. (Better yet, ask someone who has done what you want to do to create a routine for you.)
Then commit to following that routine for two weeks. For each of the next 14 days, keep your head down and focus solely on what you need to do that day. Not next week. Not next month. Not next year.
Just today.
At the end of two weeks, you’ll know whether you want to keep going.