One Beats None

Jake Thompson
2 min readJan 21, 2021

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One step beats none.

I’ve had more than my share of days where it’s been a struggle to work.

My ADHD runs wild with distractions. My motivation levels are nonexistent. I find myself bouncing around my office doing it menial tasks trying to avoid the big, important projects I should be working on.

Ever had those days?

I’ve found that if I give into the temptations of my distracted days, it doesn’t magically disappear the following like I’d hoped. More often than not, the second (or third) day continues without a motivated focus.

That’s how negative streaks get going — and get out of control.

I started telling myself aloud that “one beats none.”

It was my way of dialing in my focus and getting just one step completed for a project. Maybe I….

  • Chose to sketch a rough outline of my new book instead of worrying about writing an entire chapter today
  • Sent just one prospect email instead of five.
  • Worked out for 10 minutes instead of one hour.

A tiny step beats not taking one for many reasons, including the reinforcement of our mindset as being someone who doesn’t require motivation.

The more we can train ourselves to realize that “one beats none,” the more consistent we can be in making progress toward our goals.

You don’t have to get everything done today.

Heck, you don’t even have to get a lot done today.

But you 100% do need to get one thing done today. Commit to it — and compete for it.

I help organizations cultivating a WINNING mindset to compete every day. If this sounds like a focus that your team members and company needs, I would love to discuss my workshops and keynote options to determine the best fit for your organization. Click here to start the conversation.

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Jake Thompson

Chief Encouragement Officer for @CompeteEveryDay | Keynote Speaker | I teach people how to #Compete so they can win their work, workouts, & life.