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Like most people, I have had past experiences where I would set some haphazard goal for how I wanted to make a change in my life only to overlook it a few weeks later. Usually, that takes place around New Years.
In the past, as the new year loomed closer, I would find myself contemplating what I wanted my resolution for the next year to be. I would think about my flaws, mistakes I made during the past year, my bad habits, and failed goals, and lie to myself saying things would change starting day one of the new year.
Even though I knew new year’s resolutions were a lot easier to make than to keep, I would still make that same yearly promise to be more successful, smile more, and get more done compared to the previous year.
In the past few months I have achieved my goal of learning front-end web design, created an online business (click here to see the prototype), and I’m a mere month and a half away from achieving my second degree from Georgia Southern University.
I’m writing this article because I want to offer advice, a helping hand, to anyone reading this who has some goal they want to achieve. I want to explain how I went from making ill-conceived promises, to getting things done.
Getting Things Done
I have been working out more lately — I do strength training pretty much every day. The reason I write this is because in the past I use to tell myself “I want to get into shape.” I would say that with no actual idea as to how I would do that.
Don’t get me wrong, I know getting in shape is as simple as being physically active combined with some form of nutrition, but I never planned to do anything that would move me closer to accomplishing what I wanted to do. And, that is what I want to talk to you about this week.
My advice to you is simple, “you have to have a plan!” Without direction, you will NEVER move beyond just dreaming about self-improvement.
I had to learn that I couldn’t just make vague decisions about improving myself, and expect change to just naturally follow, and neither can you.
I have an exercise for you.
Take out a piece of paper and write down three goals you have achieved in your life. Maybe like me, you decided to go back to school, learn a new recipe, or work on your confidence. No matter how big or small, write it down and think about how it made your life better.
Now write down ten more things, and after that ten more. You have accomplished a lot in your life, and the reason you were able to do all those things is because you planned to do so.
There is value in immediately writing down any goal you want. Once you write it down the goal becomes definite. You have concrete evidence of what you aim to achieve.
The goal is to write it down and plan it out as specific as possible. Break your goal down into daily activities. If you want to achieve something you should be doing something daily that moves you a step closer to achieving that goal.
Once you do that you will be able to keep track, and when you do that, the goal will become harder to ignore. Without a plan you have no direction – your goal is just conceptual. Having a thought of changing doesn’t require you to do anything, but a plan does.
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Photo by Manasvita S on Unsplash
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