vo|ran|com|men

[foˈrankɔmən]

Meaning: To make progress, to move forward on a course.

A great motivator in life is getting ahead. Whether at work, in your free time, in sport, music or cooking. Many people want to get ahead in life.

I recently had the feeling that I wasn’t really making any progress – maybe you know that too. To get out of this diffuse emotion, it is worth making things tangible. Here is my attempt:

There are two major levers for making progress:

1. drive:

The energy to get moving and stay moving. The drive is what accelerates the machine. In a car, it would be the engine. For us, it’s health, endurance and fitness.

2nd direction:

The path into which the drive energy is directed. That which gives the machine direction. In a car, this would be: steering and navigation system.

So far so obvious, right? So why is it worth talking about? Because we often focus strongly on the drive and disregard the direction.

This is exactly what I often observe in myself: if I feel like I’m not getting anywhere, I make sure that my drive gets stronger. I then train specifically, ensure sufficient regeneration and give my machine good fuel – so I eat well. My engine will soon be at peak performance. Ideal conditions for making progress. And now I start running … in 1000 directions at the same time. I go full throttle and still feel like I’m not getting anywhere.

The question that brings clarity here is: Do I go in one direction with full energy or in thousands of directions with a little energy in each.

Absent-mindedness or focus is the choice we get to make every day. We let our focus drift in different directions and therefore don’t make any progress. If I’m in the car and want to drive to five different destinations, I won’t get as far as I would with just one destination – no matter how powerful the engine is. Greg McKeown has aptly illustrated this graphically:

The point, of course, is not to have only one direction – only one goal – in life. If we want to make progress in a certain area, it is not just a matter of strengthening our driving forces. I can be very persistent and strong and can’t move despite using a lot of energy. The decision for a relevant direction is also decisive. Or to put it another way: unfortunately, it’s not enough to recharge my batteries on vacation if I’m running around like a headless chicken afterwards. Before I set off, I get to put my inner chicken on its head – and give it a few destination coordinates.

Essence: The two big levers for progress are drive and direction. We can deal with both equally in order to make real progress. A strong driving force will only really move us forward in combination with direction and focus.

When was the last time you consciously thought about the direction you were going in?