Never Too Late to Make History

It’s the middle of March, and that means it is also the middle, not the beginning, of Women’s History Month. We intentionally waited to acknowledge the important theme this month to make a critical point. How many times have you delayed a decision, abandoned a goal, or paused an action because of an arbitrary “start date” or timeframe? I’ll hold off on giving the constructive feedback until her annual performance review. I can’t participate in dry-January because I had a glass of wine on January 4th…maybe next year. I’ll wait until I make my New Year’s resolutions to find a new job or commit to a healthier lifestyle. I thought I’d have my MBA by the time I was 30 and now it’s too late. Why?

The truth is that it’s never too late. It’s never too late to make a different decision, to start a new business, to get a degree, to change jobs or careers, to move to another city, to celebrate all the amazing women who have already made history, or to make some history of your own. We place more random limitations on ourselves than anyone else, and we experience the greatest disappointments when reality doesn’t match the images, ideals, or expectations we have conjured up in our heads. You have the power to change your mind. To rewrite the script. To deviate from the plan. To establish new expectations and timeframes. To go rogue and start a new morning routine on a Wednesday instead of a Monday.

Follow the ON Point Action Plan and start making your own history on any given day.

7 Steps to Making History Any Day of the Year

1. Get Clarity – understand what you really want or need to decide or take action on and why; what’s the greater purpose and deeper meaning

2. Be Self-Aware – recognize if you are delaying, deflecting, avoiding, or sabotaging an action or decision and blaming it on random reasons

3. Challenge the Status Quo – go against the grain and question the rationale behind certain arbitrary dates, timeframes, seasons or days of the week

4. Create Accountability – grab a buddy, mentor or coach and let them know what you want to do and by when so they can ask you about it and support you

5. Abandon Perfection – no one made history overnight or with a perfectly executed plan; it’s all about progress and be prepared to pivot along the way

6. Look Back – reflect on previous peak performance moments when you made history in a significant way; if you did it once, you can do it again and again

7. Celebrate the Start – starting a new endeavor, project, degree, or career move is often the hardest part; congratulate yourself for getting out of the starting gate