GOING THE EXTRA MILE IN LIFE!
May 29, 2025
By Mark David
When we hear people talking about going the “extra mile”, most people take it as working harder than others; I would like to shine another light on this simple but powerful habit.
Think about going the extra mile in life as a mindset that drives your behavior, which will attract favorable opportunities into one’s life.
Let’s break it down into two categories: first, what does going the extra mile in life mean? It simply refers to going beyond the norm of what is expected. Many years ago, one of my technology clients discovered on a late Friday afternoon a small equipment issue. The next thing you know, the challenge in which they discovered became a problematic issue. They were now in a very weird predicament. They had to hold the fort down all by themselves, and work on overdrive all weekend long. I don’t remember why they couldn’t reach out for help, but they couldn’t. They spent their entire weekend holding down the fort until Monday when their peers came to work to relieve them of the act of heroism they performed. If they didn’t sacrifice themselves, their team and company would have had tremendous losses.
This act of going the extra mile in their life awarded this individual the accomplishment of employee of the year, which entailed a wonderful cash bonus and a promotion.
Many people are going the extra mile in life throughout the day. They are unaware that they are ever doing it. Why? Because it is a habit. A habit is an automatic behavior that happens without you even thinking about it. You just do it because it’s who you are.
My goal in this blog is to wake you up and possess greater awareness when you can go the extra mile in life. It is crucial to realize the opportunities in which you can give more to yourself, your family, your job, and your community. Giving more doesn’t mean you’re exhausting yourself all day- it is recognizing that you can do a little more. All of these extra-mile moments add up to greater successes in your life.
Examples of going the extra mile in life for yourself:
- Pre-plan and keep your promise to yourself to pamper yourself and put yourself first. Whatever that time you allotted for yourself is, don’t give it away- keep it, and reward yourself by filling up your battery.
- Slow down and let others serve you the love, trust, and respect you have earned from them. Allow those individuals to shower you with their energy that they want to give you. Allow these moments in your life. Please don’t rush by them.
- For your family:
- Create extra time for them in your life. Hang out, laugh, enjoy each other’s aliveness and give them more of you. That’s what they want.
- Spend time thinking about each one of your family’s members. Put a plan together to demonstrate to them how special and amazing they are. Make them feel fantastic about themselves. Yes, this takes time to plan and implement, but that’s what makes you so special. You unconditionally put them first and they know it.
- Your career:
- Select everyday challenges, issues, problems, and obstacles, and identify which ones you can naturally and easily go the extra mile for. Simply do more than expected. Don’t look for others noticing it, just go beyond what is asked of you. The results are incredibly positive for your career. I have observed, in the corporate world, you will not get promoted by doing your job brilliantly. You have to go the extra mile. The extra mile work gets your name to be put forward; It also sets you up to receive excellent bonuses.
- Keep developing and adding positive behaviors, skills, and habits to who you are. Become your own Growth Officer. Predetermine what behavioral improvement you want to make for yourself. Identify them and then build a plan with actionable steps to make these new habits a reality.
- Take Action!! With every new habit you create, your career value skyrockets. I suggest you set a goal of 4 new habits a year, with one for each quarter. Make them align with what you want to do in your life. This makes it more exciting and motivating.
The second category is when going the extra mile in life you attract and pull to you life’s favorable opportunities that will accelerate your success. Every time you go the extra mile you are creating a vacuum. What will fill this vacuum are opportunities that you aren’t even thinking about.
These opportunities appear in the form of:
- People
- Getting the breaks you need- it might even seem you are lucky
- Ideas
- Recommendations
- Solutions
- Actions
- The “how” of getting some things done appears suddenly for you. It’s thrilling to see the “how” appear. It truly is a lightbulb moment.
- Your intuition tells you to make the correct turn and go down a specific road.
- You get the right assignments, projects, and challenges that showcase your gifts and talents.
The bottom line of my message to you is you can only benefit from going the extra mile in your life. There are no downsides to this habit. This is a wonderful time in all our lives to be this type of person, and for it to be part of your personal brand. I promise you the world will notice.
Lastly, here is a technique you can use to truly manufacture more extra mile moments, and create even greater attraction for more powerful benefits. Use the Rule of 3: The Rule of 3 is when you are in the extra mile moment and you say to yourself, “That’s it. I am at my maximum effort. I have reached my limit.” Go beyond it- take a breath and find a way to extend and expand where you are. When you go beyond your limit, DO IT AGAIN. And then, ONE MORE TIME. It is truly amazing to witness how much more you can create. The Rule of 3 is like using the law of compounding interest. It builds a natural and organic growth for you, your family, your career, and most importantly your life.
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Best,
Summar + Mark
P.S. Let me know your thoughts on this blog as we enjoy your feedback greatly.
Appreciate the Day,
Mark David
