It's All About the Mulligans

Have you requested your mulligan yet?  It's day 7.  Odds are you already slipped on at least one of your resolutions for the the new year.  I have good news for you.  Research published in Psychology Today states 71% of people who were successful in keeping their resolutions slipped in their first month.  They succeeded because they requested a mulligan – a do over.  The lesson here is perseverance wins.

The one area of my life I can honestly say where I'm qualified as an expert is in the area of falling down.  My first job in high school was delivering newspapers before sunrise every morning.  It was also my first opportunity to participate in a contest.  Knock on doors, ask people if they would like to start receiving the morning paper and get enough successful outcomes to win a trip to Disneyland.  Did I fail?  Every day.  Did I quit?  No.  How many mulligans did I need to get to Disneyland?  Let's just say I knocked on a lot of doors and it took a long time before my voice wouldn't crack when I asked for the sale.  That trip to Disneyland was one of the best experiences of my childhood.

I'm a little bit older now.  Not much has changed in the area of falling down.  The prizes haven't changed much either.  I'm still motivated by cool prizes that involve trips.  Maybe that's why I'm not afraid to ask for a mulligan any time I fail at a goal.  Failing is normal.  In fact, not failing is a sign the goal is too easy.  The goal my wife and I set up for ourselves will take 1,095 days to accomplish.  That means we have 1,088 days to go as of today.  I already have a name for the falling down part – bogeys.  They are a necessary part of the game.  The main idea of the game is to stay on par monthly.  The bogeys can be overcome as long as I decide the prize at the end of the game is more valuable than quitting.  I'm going to need a lot of mulligans.  You may hear me yelling, "fore!"  That means I'm still playing.  It's day 7.  I'm loading up on my mulligans for the long haul.  It's all about being happy no matter what the score is.  Have a great day.