Preparing to Do, The Key to Success

Hi everyone. Staying dry, I hope? Rain is a beautiful thing and can represent a lot of things. For me, it reminds me of my first kiss, but that’s a story for another day. People can also look at rain as a cleansing, washing away things of the past in preparation for what you’re about to do. That’s our focus for today: How preparation leads to success.

I may have mentioned before how much I love to cook. Ok, that’s not totally true. I love to eat, and as a result of that love, I developed a love for cooking. I also grew up watching cooking shows before they became hugely popular. I became really interested in how chefs think and some of the processes that they have. One term I learned along the way is "mise en place," or the setup. The "mise" is really about having your station ready for when meal service begins. This means everything is already cleaned and cut into whatever shape (e.g., dice, mince, julienne, etc.) you’ll need to use. It also means things are placed in the same place every time for ultimate efficiency because when service starts, you don’t have to think; you can just move and know things are where you want them to be. In order for that all to work, all of the cleaning, peeling, cutting, etc., need to be done before the customer walks in the door. 

If this isn’t completed, it affects the timing of your execution. If you’re cooking and preparing at the same time, the timing may be off, and you might miss the best time to be cooking that ingredient. I can tell you from experience that this is indeed sound advice. There have been so many times I’ve burnt a chicken breast and had to cut off that outer layer or was watching a show while boiling pasta and ended up with limp noodles. Anyone else experience this? 

Here’s the question to ask yourself about achieving your goals: are you preparing to take action on your goals? If you actually take the time to prepare, when it comes to actually doing the goal, it suddenly becomes much easier. Have you ever planned on doing a workout, only to realize you didn’t wash your workout clothes? Or you ran out of protein powder? Or maybe didn’t wash your water bottle? I have. Now, if you have the determination, you’ll get it done anyways. However, if you’re having a rough day already, or maybe you’re not quite as committed as you “should,” then that reason becomes strong enough not to take action. 

I have a friend who loved drinking ice water while playing tennis in the summertime. He’d take a big gallon plastic bottle and have it half full of water, then freeze it the night before a match or practice session. This way, he just needed to fill it up and let it slowly melt throughout the session, and it would always be at his preferred temperature. Why did this matter? Because if you’re in a match and need all your focus to win, even a small thing like water temperature can throw you off. He didn’t want that to be an excuse, so he prepared the night before.

So here are my questions for you. First, do you have a clear goal set out? If not, please take care of that first (check out my Wheel of Life tool at https://www.kevinkoocoach.com/wheel-of-life1). Second, what are some preparation goals you can set so you can take action on your goals? If you’d like some direct support, book a call at https://calendly.com/kevinkoocoaching/cvforum.

Coach Kev helps people gain clarity on what they want in life, craft a plan, and keep them accountable while preparing his mise. Contact him at kevinkoocoaching@gmail.com