Let’s face it. If you’re in the habit of making “new years resolutions” and then breaking them, why bother? It’s only wishful thinking, right?
If you actually want to achieve something significant in 2018, create a goal and own it! And if you’ve ever set a goal before and not achieved it, you’re probably not investing in your success. That’s right. To create actual change, you must be willing to make some investments…..of time, money, resources, and energy. For example, if you wanted to excel at a sport, you’d be wise to hire a proven coach. That coach would have you practicing 95% of the time, and performing 5% of the time. In our daily lives, the percentages are usually reversed. You are performing 95% of the time, and you’re a rare person if you dedicate 5% of your time to practice. That’s why it’s critical to set very clear targets and select the best practices. That way, you’ll actually be creating your goal through the practices that you’ve installed. And as a bonus, the practices you install will lead to successes in other areas of your life!
Look at those who are truly succeeding in life, and compare them with the many who are not. Successful people don’t just set goals, they invest in learning best practices AND they dedicate time to put their learning into practice. Success requires dedication and re-prioritizing. (Those new practices come first!). If you honestly want to create a change this year, skip the resolutions. Write down a clear goal and install the changes that will make it happen!
Research has clearly shown the correlation between writing down goals and achieving them, so take a few minutes now and write down one thing that would make the biggest difference in your life in 2018. Make it real, WRITE IT DOWN, and post it so you see it every day!
Then, use these steps to achieve your goal:
- MAKE A COMMITMENT. Are you willing to make the commitment to BE, DO, or HAVE what you want, knowing you must make it a priority and install consistent actions to change? If you can’t say a resounding “yes, I want it that badly!”…choose another goal.
- EXPAND YOUR AWARENESS. Are you eager to learn, and willing to suffer the discomforts of change in order to achieve your goal?
- CREATE A VISION. What will be different in your life and your relationships when you achieve your goal? (Remember: Everything you’ve created in your life, you first created in your mind!)
- CREATE SPACE. What will you release in order to make room for new things to come into your life? What no longer serves you?
- TRUST THE PROCESS. How will you cultivate the faith you’ll need to reach your goal? What will keep you going?
Make that promise a reality this year by writing down your top goal and doing whatever it takes to achieve it. Just imagine what your life will be like when you get past that goal!