One Step at a Time, One Punch at a Time, One Round at a Time

He made it one step at a time

That’s right, another post referring to Creed. It really is a good movie with plenty of lessons that can apply to life outside of the ring; I highly recommend it. Another one of the lessons that resonates with me and my personal life is Rocky’s advice to Adonis, and one of the most quotable lines in the film: “One step at a time, one punch at a time, one round at a time.”

When we take on a new project, or begin a new chapter in our lives, we tend to have our eyes on the prize, looking forward to the day that everything will come into place and we will live the lives that we have always dreamed of. Unless you have been extremely fortunate, this has probably not been the case for you. It certainly has not been for me.

Despite this reality, we cannot give up. We may indeed come to a point where it is time to terminate efforts in a particular endeavor, but we cannot give up on the end goal of success in life, whatever the definition of success may be. We have to go for that “W”, or else what’s the point?

The “W” does not come overnight though. We have to train. Maybe we won’t be shadowboxing or running up steps, but we will have to better ourselves, mold ourselves, and adapt to pursue our prizes. Just as the process is not immediate, it will not necessarily be easy, but when taken piecemeal, it can all add up.

When starting a budget, we often consider cutting the fat. We look at small, frequent expenses to cut back on, like that latte at Starbucks, or that pack of gum that we don’t need when we are grocery shopping. At the end of the month, when we look at what we saved, we see that it all adds up to a sizable sum. The same concept can be utilized by adding small tasks to our daily regimen to take those small steps towards our personal goals.

This could be working on your own business when you are given days off from your primary job. This could be going just a little bit harder at the gym, or saying good morning to at least five people every day to get over social anxiety. Start small, then add a tiny bit of an extra challenge as time progresses. If you focus on getting these small tasks accomplished, before you know it, you will have reached milestones on your road to success.

“One step at a time, one punch at a time, one round at a time.”

“One approach at a time, one word at a time, one conversation at a time.”

“One thought at a time, one sentence at a time, one blog post at a time.”

“One thrust at a time, one püh at a time, one nut at a time.”

Whatever your goal may be. If you can modify the quote to meet other goals, please feel free to add your version in the comments section.