My favourite adaptation of the old phrase “Rome wasn’t built in a day” comes from author and motivator, James Clear.
Whilst English playwright John Heywood coined the original phrase to remind us of the time and patience needed to create something great, Clear adds an important corollary. He acknowledges that although it takes time — sometimes years — to master a skill, craft, or habit it doesn’t just happen overnight.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they were laying bricks every hour.
As he cleverly observes it can be easy to overestimate the importance of building your own version of ‘Rome’ and underestimate the importance of laying another brick. Building Rome is your outcome but what is more important is focusing on your habits that create the outcome .
He continues ‘Of course, there’s nothing necessarily impressive about laying a brick. It’s not a fantastic amount of work. It’s not a grand feat of strength or stamina or intelligence. Nobody is going to applaud you for it. But laying a brick every day, year after year? That’s how you build an empire. You can start small . You can focus on improving every day . You can simply put in another repetition. You don’t have to build everything you want today, but you do have to find a way to lay another brick’
This priceless advice by James Clear is the path to achieving your dreams. If you start the habit of laying a brick today and every day then today you can also count on building your dreams today.
His advice also has an important part to play in building your mental toughness – your resilience and confidence. For every brick you lay the more positive momentum you build in your life which in turn builds your resilience and confidence. If you have momentum towards achieving your dreams the less likely you are to be pushed off course or distracted by setbacks or challenges and the more likely you are to take advantage of the opportunities that you invite to come your way.
For more on building your resilience and confidence contact Mental Toughness Partners.