The 12 Minute Challenge: Power Through to Success
I love a good long workout on the treadmill. I should be more specific. I love when I’m finished with a good long workout on the treadmill. Whether I’m running, walking hills, or a little of both, the energy that this type of activity provides is addicting and invigorating. Despite this, it seems that towards the end of my workout, I will inevitably get that “I just want to quit” feeling. In fact, it’s not just close to the end of the work out, it’s almost always 12 minutes before I’m finished. It doesn’t seem to matter how long I’ve been going, when I get that “done” feeling, I look down and I have 12 minutes left.
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Though 12 minutes doesn’t seem like a long time, when you’re tired, hungry and out of breath, it can feel like an eternity. So to power myself through the last bit of my workout, I have to find ways to keep my mind busy. Yes, my mind. It’s all mental at this point.
Today, in the last 12 minutes, I decided to encourage my son who was playing video games. He gets very frustrated when he can’t get to the next level of the game, so I started noticing when he did anything good. Whenever he collected some gold coins, or defeated a flying bee, I’d clap and say, “Wow, you’re really getting it now”.
Once my video-game playing son was feeling more confident, I began to ask my other son, who is all about sports, some questions about his plans for baseball season. I enjoyed hearing him tell me about how he thought he’d better specialize in one sport, because you can’t play in the NBA and MLB.
In the remaining minutes of my workout, I remembered that I needed to think of a fun activity to do with participants in an upcoming workshop. The energy I got from getting through my workout, plus the blessing I felt from encouraging my son’s inspired me and I came up with a great plan.
The 12 Minute Challenge meets all of us from time to time, whether it’s the last hours in your workday, or the last quarter of year. You know you can’t quit, so remember the following suggestions to power through to success:
- When your energy is waning, find someone to encourage. Just seeing the sense of accomplishment on someone else’s face may be enough to get you going again.
- Talk to an enthusiastic person about their hopes and dreams for the future. Enthusiasm is contagious. You’ll catch it, and feel motivated to pursue yours.
- Scanning the lot of responsibilities for which you are accountable can be overwhelming and paralyzing. Choose just one project, maybe a small one, and get it done today.
Encourage others, talk about dreams, complete tasks. By taking these steps, the last 12 minutes may just be the best part of your day.
About the Author
Shelli Stinson is the VP of Business Development at WealthBridge Connect. She brings experience from education, sales and marketing as well as project management. Most recently, Shelli was the employee wellness manager at Northern Kentucky University. In this position, she learned how much influence that leadership has on the physical, emotional and mental wellness of employees in the workplace. After graduating from NKU with a Masters degree in Executive Leadership and Organizational Change, she joined WealthBridge Connect. In this new role, she hopes to influence businesses to invest in their employees through comprehensive leadership development initiatives, promoting healthier and more productive workplaces- from the top down and the inside out.
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