The 4th of July is a good marker to remind us that what was once the New Year is now half over. Are you on track to achieve the goals you set for the year? If not, it’s a great time to reset and recommit. Here are some additional tips to consider after you have defined your SMART Goals, as discussed in an earlier post. When your goal seems to be beyond your reach, that is, you have a BIG goal, but you don’t know how to get there, consider these:
- List Resources. Make a list of all the people you know who can be a resource for you and note for what they are a resource. Be specific, note each contact rather than saying “all my friends”. Make the list as long as you can with at least 10 names. Then make a list of resources other than people, such as libraries, career centers, business resource centers, internet searches, marketing materials, etc. Once again, make this list as long as possible and jot down everything that comes to mind.
- Stay in Action. Move forward every day with at least one action toward your goal. Develop actions from your list of resources. You may not know now how you are going to get to your goal, but one action will lead to the next and so on until the path eventually becomes clear. If you are not in action, you will not achieve your goal.
- Focus on Getting Better. When you focus on getting better, you take difficulty in stride. You acknowledge that your journey is difficult and your destination is in the future. You can enjoy the experience and the learning that takes place every day you take a positive step forward. A Getting Better mindset leaves no room for negative self-talk and the depression that can follow.
- Decide When and Where. Commit not only to take action, but also plan when and where you will take action. If you want to succeed, learn how to sieze the moment. This will also set triggers in motion. For example, if you commit to take one specific action after work on Tuesday, your brain will be alerted to the action even as the conscious mind is distracted. And you will know immediately that you gone off track when Tuesday evening passes without action.
- Identify the Obstacles. Define the obstacles or distractions that may be encountered and plan the action you will take when they come up. The benefit of this is that you recognize the events or activities that will take you off-track and you can carefully consider alternatives and pre-plan the choice that will move you forward.
Consider hiring a coach to catapult you forward. A coach will challenge you, keep you focused, give you a boost of energy and hold you accountable. To learn more about the benefits of a personal coach, call me for a free consultation.
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