In this weeks blog entry, I’d like to talk about something which I find is often overlooked – discipline & goal setting. The title may be a little misleading, nobody is being fired or getting a warning – I see it as a double-entendre & a light form of humour. Anyway moving on…
I’ve found throughout my life that discipline has played a pivotal role in keeping me focused, motivated & working towards my longer-term goals. Cutting hair efficiently & effectively requires an extreme amount of discipline. Especially when it comes to things like our technique, overall growth & going through every day proceedings at the shop. Fortunately, I have always been self-motivated & very disciplined when it comes to reaching my targets. I feel this side of my persona relates to my late cycling career.
Cycling was one hell of a struggle at times & believe me there were many mornings I didn’t want to get out of bed. Envision this – it’s the middle of the freezing cold winter in Ireland & you wake up at 8 AM to the sound of blustering winds & rain pelting off the roof of the house. You are sore & stiff from your already massive 20+ hour week of training for the upcoming season. You have one final day of training before you get a rest day & your coach has given you 4 hours to do to top off the week. This is when the devil on one shoulder, the angel on another comes into play.
One little part of my mind thinks that missing this day wouldn’t be detrimental as I’ve already had a massive week of training, but on the other hand, I know by doing it, it might make all the difference when it comes to improving that last 10%. It will give me that advantage over anyone else who would cave in & not train that day.
Having that sporting background has been pivotal for me in achieving my own personal objectives & goals. The crossover has been somewhat of an easy one to be honest – because nothing will ever be as hard as what I went through as a cyclist. All the suffering, all the pain & all the discipline for sometimes little to no reward in the short term – but always keeping the longer-term goals in mind.
Hair is much the same. Discipline makes all the difference. Because when you get to a certain level it’s all about that last 10%. Ultimately I understand that everyone is on their own journey, it all depends on your goals & how far you want to take your hair career & your own skillset. Success is measured individually & I am aware of that.
Goal setting is something I have always done throughout my life & when I first got my own apartment in Melbourne the first thing I wanted to buy was a whiteboard. I hung that whiteboard in my living area & wrote out my longer to medium-term goals on that whiteboard. I found on a daily basis this triggered my conscious & subconscious mind powerfully & I held myself much more accountable in the process of achieving my goals. Physically writing them all down made them real & making them real, made me work harder towards achieving them.
I challenge everyone reading this blog to sit down & write out your long term & short term goals. Make sure they are clear, precise & realistic. It’s such an amazing thing to think about your ideal vision of the future & work on the process of turning it into a reality. Now is a perfect time to do this, so that when we can all live our lives normally again we can hit the ground running!
If anyone needs any help with setting their goals or wants to ask me any questions I am just a message away on Instagram @eoinmccarthyhair or feel free to email me @ eoinmccarthyhair@gmail.com – no question or query is too big or too small – please reach out!
Have a great week!
Eoin
