Showing Up
December 26th, 2006 by Steve Pavlina
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I’m sure you’ve heard the Woody Allen quote that 80% of success is showing up. While merely showing up — to work, to an audition, to a date, etc. — won’t guarantee success, it’s certainly a prerequisite.
A few months ago I began training in kempo, a martial arts style that could be described as a cross between karate and kung fu, plus some weapons training. I’m currently an orange belt, still very much a beginner but far enough along to grasp the basics. By showing up to the studio again and again, I learn self-defense techniques, get an interesting workout, and have a lot of fun. If I simply continue this pattern, I’ll gradually learn kempo and advance in belt ranks.
Is this easy? No. I don’t always feel motivated to go to class, and sometimes I wrestle with the time commitment. Is this on autopilot? Yes. Attending kempo classes is a habit, so it would actually take some effort to quit. All I need to do is keep showing up, and the rest is on autopilot. If I show up to class, I know I’ll put in the effort when I get there and feel good about it afterwards. Showing up is always the limiting step. Showing up doesn’t guarantee I’ll become a black belt, but it will get me about 80% of the way there if I stick with it.
Situations where showing up gets you 80% of the way to your goal are golden. In addition to martial arts training, here are some other examples:
- Show up to class — get an education and/or earn a degree
- Show up to work – earn income and build a career
- Show up to the gym — get a workout and build fitness
- Show up to Toastmasters meetings — overcome fear of public speaking and develop communication skills
- Show up to the grocery store with a healthy shopping list — buy healthy foods and improve your diet
You can also stretch this concept to apply to other areas:
- Show up to your relationship — set aside time for your partner, go on dates, etc.
- Show up to your spiritual practice — meditate, read, attend services, etc.
- Show up to success – make decisions, set goals, commit
- Show up to give — volunteer, share, help others, etc.
- Show up to opportunities — write a book, start a business, create a web site, etc.
- Show up to growth — read, journal, take time for introspection
If you allow abstract concepts like health or love to remain abstract, you won’t move forward in these areas. Abstractions are wonderful tools for thought, but eventually you need to turn them into concrete physical actions. Your abstraction must eventually become a process of showing up.
For example, the abstract concept of fitness can be turned into the physical process of going to the gym, going running, or attending martial arts classes. The abstract concept of expanding your consciousness can become the practices of daily meditation and journaling. The abstract concept of continuing education can become the habit of reading for an hour a day.
Turning an abstraction into a process of showing up requires an initial effort of time and energy. You have to sign up for the class, join the gym, or do something else to get the ball rolling. Once the system is in place, you’re on autopilot. Keep showing up, and the results will take care of themselves. My favorite process for making this transition is the 30-day trial plus the method of overwhelming force. By making a 30-day commitment instead of a lifetime commitment, it’s easier to get moving, and by the end of the 30 days, it’s hard to stop.
It’s amazing what the simple practice of showing up can achieve over time. You don’t need to be fancy or clever or brilliant if you can be consistent. A simple daily workout with a simple diet can produce a high level of fitness. Simple relationship habits like staring your partner in the eyes and saying “I love you” every day help build a bond of closeness. And simple awareness-raising practices like meditation and journaling can develop a deep sense of inner peace. But these results only accumulate if you keep showing up. A single workout, a single “I love you,” or a single meditation won’t do much for you — it’s the long-term habit that makes the difference.
Choose an area of your life where you’d like to make real improvements, and brainstorm ways to turn it into a process of showing up. You can find a list of areas to consider here.
December 27th, 2006 at 8:53 am
[…] I am checking my weight again. I am setting as my goal less than the month before. Which I am already doing, but I figure it will get harder as I go on. I checked myself on 11-1 and weighed in at a whopping: 248.5 . It is a little scary cause I don’t seem like a 250 lb person. However seeing my dad over the holiday and his gut, I am realizing that the only person that can fix it is me. I weighed in on the 26th and I was at 247.5. So I figured as long as I am below 247.5 by 1-1, I should have accomplished my goal for December. I read the showing up article by Steve. (his is a good site btw. lots of good articles) I am going to try and just show up at the gym. So that means making sure that I have a packed workout back before I go to sleep in the morning. I am also hoping that I get some more snowboarding in since that was quite a workout. Hopefully with less falling in the future. My other goal is 1500 sit ups on my little exercise ball by my next birthday. Conveniently, my birthday is in the middle of the year. Figure there is 365 days that means that half that is 182.5 so I just need to do 15 sit ups / crunches / whatevers a day and I should reach my goal. that gives me 30 days off or 5 days a month until June. Figure I take a break on Sundays and it all pans out. hopefully I can reach my goal. I already am at 15. […]
December 27th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
[…] Steve Pavlina.com escreve sobre a razão por que se deve ser “exibido”. Veja o artigo completo. Ele cita a famosa frase de Woody Alen que afirmou “oitenta por cento da razão do sucesso é o exibicionismo”. Óbvio que apenas exibicionismo seja no trabalho, numa prova, num relacionamento não garante o sucesso, mas certamente é um pré-requisito. A questão do exibicionismo (no bom sentido) é um ponto crítico para pessoas tímidas, cujo o potencial é muitas vezes limitado pelo medo do que os outros vão pensar. […]
December 27th, 2006 at 7:50 pm
How to Bring Your Blog to Success?
Steve Pavlina’s delivered insightful thoughts about success. In his blog, he stress that most success comes from showing up. He further emphasizes that while showing up doesn’t guarantee it will get you about 80% of the way there if I stick with it. …
December 30th, 2006 at 9:25 am
[…] Once again referring to human nature, we are much better at solving short-term issues than long term ones. We are bad at seeing the cumulative effect of our behaviour and will underestimate the long-term impact of, say, compound interest, regular exercise, or recycling. If you want to read more about this, read this post on Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development blog about constructive habit forming. […]
December 31st, 2006 at 5:58 pm
[…] Everyone makes mistakes. No investor is perfect because when we make good or bad trades, someone else is on the opposite side of the deal. No matter what happens, show up to investing and work hard at it. Steve Pavlina writes a brilliant article on how showing up is 80% of the battle. Although this 80% rule is less applicable in the investing game, you’ll miss 100% of the chances you don’t take. Keep your money in the market and let time take its course. […]
January 4th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
[…] Steve Pavlina of StevePavlina.com (Yeah, I know, I checked to make sure I didn’t mess it up) posted about the importance of showing up and started his post with a Woody Allen quote that pertained to the rest of his post. Me? I’m going to start with a Jack Handey quote, “What is it that makes a complete stranger dive into an icy river to save a solid-gold baby? Maybe we’ll never know.“ […]
January 15th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
[…] Steve Pavlina has a great blog about showing up. If alsoran is going to become the champion, then it’s time to start showing up for the race. […]
January 16th, 2007 at 1:51 pm
[…] He leído un artículo de Steve Pavlina que viene de perlas para los propósitos de año nuevo: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/12/showing-up/ La idea no es nueva pero me gusta como la aplica a cualquier cosa. Basada en una frase de Woody Allen que dice que el 80% del éxito de lo que hacemos se basa en “actuar como”. actúa como si fueras una persona eficiente y te convertirás en una persona eficiente. actúa como si supieras dibujar y poco a poco te irás convirtiendo en dibujante. Una versión más antigua de esta idea decía que cuando no sintieras algo actuaras como si lo sintieras hasta llegar a sentirlo realmente. Bueno, espero no haberte liado más de la cuenta. Si has entendido esto el original en inglés es pan comido. […]
March 9th, 2007 at 6:58 am
[…] “If you allow abstract concepts like health or love to remain abstract, you won’t move forward in these areas. Abstractions are wonderful tools for thought, but eventually you need to turn them into concrete physical actions. Your abstraction must eventually become a process of showing up.” (thanks Steve Pavlina of StevePavlina.com). […]
May 30th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
[…] Steve Pavlina demonstrate’s it by taking action and just Showing Up. Once again it’s YOU that has to show up and get the job done if you truly want to have the “RESULTS”. We all might want to skip and take the shortcuts. But guess what? There is no short cut for real success. […]
July 16th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
[…] I remembered first reading about Showing Up in one of Steve Pavlina’s article. Steven Spielberg’s story was another true depiction of it. When he was asked if he wanted the internship job at Universal, he said yes and showed up. When he was told by Universal executives that they would only consider 16mm, he did 1 production over the weekend and showed up. Though he was asked to return with a 36mm, he did as he promised and showed up again. […]