Your 100% Track Record

If I asked you about your 100% track record, you’d probably start sorting through your past to identify those times when you scored 100%. Perhaps you go back to your first big test in grade school or maybe the win at the track meet.

If I asked you about times when you gave 100%, there are probably other memories like preparing for your first day on the job, planning a big event or maybe like me, giving birth to a few pretty great humans.

Both of these are very results-focused and set us up for measuring ourselves against perfection. I’d like to offer another perspective.

If you’re reading this, that’s just a fact. Now, has it always been pretty? Of course not. Are you where you thought you’d be? Doubtfully. Have some experiences brought you to your knees? Most certainly.

All too often, we dwell on our failures and mistakes while barely paying attention to our wins. I recently read about a study that puts some data behind catching yourself doing things right called, “The Positive Ticket Project.”

The police department in Richmond, British Columbia, led by a new superintendent, Ward Clapham, challenged the prevailing thinking that ‘cracking down on crime’ was achieving the best results. He came up with the idea of issuing positive tickets. The focus was to catch youth doing the right things and give them a ticket for positive behavior. The ticket itself would grant the recipient with free entry to the movies or to a local youth center. Since then they have given out an average of 40,000 tickets a year. Three times the number of negative tickets over the same period. - Greg McKeown

The results? Recidivism (repeat offender) was reduced from 65% to 5%.

This newsletter isn’t focused on crime reduction but I know you can draw the parallel to why we’re here. Each week we dive into what we’ve been taught about resilience. A large part of what we’ve been taught is to learn from our failures.

What if we started paying 3 times the attention to learning from our successes? How many positive tickets could you give yourself or those around you? Can you feel a shift in energy just by considering this idea?

I certainly can. I see it with my kids, I’ve religiously done it with my employees. But myself? Not so much. Until now.

My tickets this week:

• Exercising every day, 4 days at full intensity at my new gym

• Prioritizing sleep

• Saying ‘no’ to an exciting project because I can do a lot, but I can’t do it all at once

• Removing bread from breakfast and lunch (goodbye 4 pounds!)

• Spending 1:1 time with each of my kids

• An impromptu dinner out with my husband

• Showing up present and with compassion for friends who are grieving

• Securing a great new client

Now it’s your turn. Make it fun. Include others. And no matter what comes your way, remember you have a 100% track record of getting through it.