Did you set a resolution this New Year’s? I’m sure you’ve heard the stats many times before about how many resolutions lose steam quickly.
Let’s help you get into the success columns by addressing one of these most common areas where folks fall down regarding resolutions, goals, and all such ambitions: Creating an execution plan. Resolutions are just like any other goal… they are too big to tackle all at once and typically need to be acted on over time.
Just knowing what you want to achieve gives you an outcome, but without a specific plan to your work that outcome is really just a pipe dream.
So, let’s help you develop your success plan.
Step 1: What are your Course Markers?
In other words, what are the milestones or specific projects that would move you forward toward your outcome? If we think of the road to any goal like a journey, then there are markers that measure or define your progress on the course. To get from one place to the next there are a sequence of towns that you will go through. If you don’t know to look for them or work towards them, then you may end up in Washington DC rather than Washington State, right?
Let’s use a specific business example to make this easier to understand. Here’s an outcome: I want to attract 6 new clients.
What are some course markers that I could use to guide me toward that outcome?
* Schedule 2 speaking events/mo.
* Develop a kick-ass landing page, opt-in offer, & email nurture sequence
* Host a webinar 1x month
Those are specific, actionable milestones that can help you attract and nurture new potential clients, right? So, we’ve got a plan… we’re done. *BUZZ* Wrong. We have a strategy, now it’s time to get tactical.
Step 2: Identify your Next Steps
What specifically would you need to do in order to schedule 2 speaking events for this month? Think of all the actions that might help you accomplish that milestone and capture them on your Master List. Some might be for Today, others are Soon, and a few might be down the road for later.
It’s also important at this point to recognize if any of the next steps are habits rather than tasks… in our example, most of the next steps are likely single, discrete tasks. But, if your outcome was health-related for example, then you might have to plan healthy meals each week or go to the gym 3x week. It’s much better to track these actions as habits rather than tasks since they are repetitive.
The point is that you have to drill down to this level if you’re going to have any chance of succeeding with your outcome.
Step 3: Focus on Progress, not perfection
Start taking action, work your plan, and focus on making continual progress. One of the mindset shifts that gets folks into trouble sometimes is spending too much time lamenting that they haven’t yet reach their goal and focusing on the distance to the peak, rather than celebrating their progress and using that energy to propel further action.
Todd Herman calls this the oww brain vs. the wow brain. Carol Dweck in her book Mindset talks about Fixed vs. Growth mindset. As part of my NLP training we talk about meta-programs one of which is a “Goal or Value Sort” in which we have Perfectionists, Optimizers, and Disengagers. Let’s start with the extremes…
Perfectionists are always pushing their finish line further out and focusing obsessively on it. They are known for saying things like “I could have done it better.” “It wasn’t good enough.” Frequently, they will set their goals so high that they are almost guaranteeing failure.
Disengagers refuse to set or go after goals entirely. Often they became demoralized after having sought perfection for too long. “Why bother trying if I can never succeed.” The negative beliefs are now driving their decision-making and removing them from engaging in the process.
Optimizers focus on doing the best with what they have in the moment. What can I do to move forward today? They focus on making progress with small steps and appreciating the little stages along the way. They give themselves permission to make the process (not just the outcome) fun.
Obviously… this is the space that I encourage people to live. It’s positive, empowering, and allows for progress, achievement, and joy each day (not just when an outcome is achieved.) Consider where you’ve been spending time in relationship to this specific goal or resolution, and invite a mindset shift by focusing on progress, not perfection. “What’s the one thing I can do today to move me toward what I want?”
Next Steps
Create your action plan. Identify your first step, and optimize your mindset to enjoy the process. With those three steps you’re programming yourself to succeed!
Feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments below. I’m happy to offer some help and encouragement!
