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Mastering the habit of showing up is the key to unlocking new habits.

Atomic Habits by James Clear

What do Brett Favre, A.C. Green, Doug Jarvis, and Cal Ripken Jr. have in common? They each hold the record for the most consecutive games started/played in their respective sports. They showed up to work every day and did their best.

While 2 out of those 4 are in the Hall of Fame in their sports (Brett Favre and Cal Ripken Jr.), Green and Jarvis still had very successful careers. Green is a 3 time NBA champion and Jarvis is a 4 time Stanley Cup champion.

They showed up almost every single day of their careers and won at the highest levels. How were they able to play a sport at such a high level so consistently? They pushed through the hard times and just showed up.

Just Show Up

Some say that showing up is half the battle. In my opinion, it is way more than half. When I go to the gym, I can’t just do one exercise then leave. When I go to work, I can’t just sit at my desk and not do anything. When I pick up a book, I can’t ever read just one page.

All of these examples are much smaller in scale than playing a professional sport but are the same thought processes. The decision to go to work or the gym or to read sets me on a path to continue my positive habits.

I’m sure there were times when these players were hurt, had bad days, or just didn’t feel like performing. I know I have some off days (Tuesdays are my worst days), but I still show up to work and figure out a way to continue my positive habits.

That’s because habits are like momentum, they continue to compound on themselves even if our actions aren’t up to the same high caliber that we expect. It really doesn’t matter if I read one page or 25 pages of my book tonight. As long as I continue to read, I will think of myself as a reader and feel more inclined to continue to make that my identity.

Professional

In the COVID-19 world we are living in, I know people love the idea of working from home. Some people can thrive in this work situation. Some people get lost or forgotten about since no one can physically see them.

Showing up to work in person, when other people are in person as well, is an underrated form of networking. In the 1 year have been at a new company, I have been going into work almost every workday I can. There was another person who started 6 months before me at the same level but hardly ever went into the office.

I can say, without a doubt, that I know more people in the company, am on more exciting projects with greater visibility, and am top of mind for people when they have a problem that needs to be solved. He is a very hard worker and a likable guy. I’m sure there are other factors in this outcome, but the facts speak for themselves.

All of this happened because I showed up to the office and just talked to the people in the hallways when I got up to get more water or heat up my lunch. All I had to do was be there and I made a connection that will pay dividends into the future.

Those random conversations cannot happen in the virtual world. Connections can be made when working from home but they are much harder, take planning, and are never spontaneous. I just had to show up to work and say hello to people I saw and the rest took care of itself.

Mental and Spiritual

One of my goals for the final stretch of the year is to expand my mental and spiritual capacity. Let myself breathe. This will be a new habit that I will be trying to form. How do I plan on achieving this?

I plan on employing the “Just Show Up” mentality. Every day, for as little as one minute, I am going to close my eyes, take deep breathes, and clear my head. I am going to turn on some smooth jazz and read a book. Before I turn out the lights to go to sleep, I will say a prayer and something I am grateful for.

Each day I will do these 3 things for one minute. That doesn’t take much effort, right? I mean, it’s only a minute. In reality, how long or short I do these actions don’t really matter if the goal is to create a new habit vs perform an action.

My goal is to expand my mental and spiritual capacity. The way I plan on doing this is by incorporating these actions into my daily life as new habits. And I am going to start performing these new actions by just showing up for as long as I can until I can convince myself that I am a spiritual person.

Being Reliable

People are counting on you whether you realize it or not. People listen to what you have to say and take it to heart. They read your posts, tweets, or articles and rely on your helpful words of encouragement to get them through a tough time.

Be careful what you say. I know kids are like sponges and pick up every little thing adults say. Managers are in positions of authority and every little word they say to their workers makes them feel valued and appreciated or neglected and mistreated. Therefore, we have to remember to be as supportive as possible as much of the time as we can.

I will never know what your day is like today. I hope it is a great one! But if it’s not, I will still be here writing to help you become a better person. My goal is to be that rock for you that always shows up to make a good day great or a bad day a little better.

I will always show up and I hope you do too!