Jerry Seinfeld is one of the most successful comedians of all time and someone who knows a thing or two about achieving a goal. He is best know as the star and co-creator of his eponymous sitcom Seinfeld, which happens to be my all-time favourite show.
For me what sets Seinfeld apart from every other show was that each and every episode was funny, all 180 of them across nine series. It achieved unprecedented CONSISTENCY.
When asked by a young comic how he could achieve such a feat Seinfeld revealed a strategy that has become know as ‘Don’t Break The Chain’. It is remarkably simple but effective, here’s what you do:
- Decide on your daily task. For Jerry it was the task of writing jokes. If you want to get stronger it might be 10 push ups, for overcoming injury it could be a 10 minute rehabilitation regime.
- Get yourself a big wall calendar and a big red marker. Every time you perform your daily task you can put a big red mark on the calendar.
- Before long you will have a chain of big red marks and your goal then becomes Don’t Break The Chain.
That’s it! Super simple but it works. It helped Seinfeld become one of the most successful comedians of all time and it can help you achieve your health, fitness & well-being goals too.
Make sure you choose an appropriate daily task, something that is challenging and will help you move the needle but is also achievable.
The strategy works because it helps you focus on the ‘process’, that is the daily task you have to perform, rather than the result which is sometimes beyond your control.
But as you perform your daily tasks and accumulate those marks on the calendar, chances are you will move ever closer to the goal you want to achieve.