I have a plumber who never runs out of stories about know-it-alls who watch too much YouTube and then try to handle everything themselves. He jokes, “It’s funny how there’s never enough money to do a job right the first time, but there’s always enough money to fix it!”
It’s true—nothing stops momentum faster than having to back up or even start over completely, whether you’re working on a big priority at work or a DIY weekend project with your spouse. But pushing just to get to “Done” when there’s confusion isn’t work worth doing. What you want to do instead is take a lesson from mountain climbers: Use careful thinking to future proof your goals.
No one tries to summit Mt. Everest in a day. Instead, mountain climbers start at base camp one, then go to base camp two, and continue one step at a time until they reach the mountaintop. All that care stacks the odds in their favor.
Let me tell you how a friend broke down a big goal into power bites to future proof her results.
After a decade of living in a loft in Boston’s Financial District, my friends Edie and Frank were excited to find an incredible 100-year old Seattle home. The architecture appealed to their sense of tradition and history but restoring it for 21st century building codes was a major undertaking. As Edie ran down her wish list of replacing old drafty windows, refinishing the floors, and swapping out peeling wallpaper, I thought, ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching!
But the surprise was that a restored home was only part of the dream—their equally important goal was staying out of debt. Edie laughed, “I guess it’s my Yankee practicality, but we’re trying to get it all done on a cash-only budget. When we get money in, we see what we can afford. If there’s anything left over, we bank it and take a break until there’s another raise or bonus.”
My jaw dropped. “But won’t that take forever?”
“It’s slow going, however, the only alternative was going deep into debt with a second mortgage or credit cards,” Edie complained. “This is the plan until HGTV pays for an extreme home makeover!”
In our world where everything is now, now, now, it’s hard to have as much patience as Edie and Frank! But cultivating their thoughtful mindset is Work Worth Doing, the topic of our March series. Did you spot all the ways they used soft skills to future proof their results?
They creatively made a blue-sky wish list. They are adaptable as money flows in an out, making discerning choices and re-arranging their priorities. And they’re demonstrating healthy self-confidence by sticking to a financial plan that works for their debt tolerance.
You can put the same soft skills to work to future proof your goals. Jumping into the deep end is exciting until you realize that you’ve overextended yourself or need to address forgotten details. So, if you want to see consistent progress and sustained success, take the mountain climber approach and slow down when necessary.
Here are three ways you can use soft skills to get back in the zone:
Don’t let a roadblock become the boss you, making you feel overwhelmed, anxious, or that you’ve picked a goal that’s over your head. Remind yourself: Climb, then acclimate. Climb, then acclimate. Climb, then acclimate. Don’t try to summit in a day.