Just the other day my wife, as I was explaining to her this post, reminded me that most people give up just shy of achieving success. Think of a hill and you are given the task of rolling a boulder up the hill. If you have enough momentum (desire) when you reach the bottom of the hill the boulder will be easy to push up the hill… in the beginning. For a while you will learn what works, what doesn't, and adapt your efforts so that you can continue to push the boulder up the hill. Your success in maintaining your speed (growth) is quite simply determined by your ability to adapt your techniques as things change. The problem with this immediate success is that eventually you have to work harder before you will see any more positive growth. In fact if you stop to rest, getting the boulder going again will be next to impossible. However if you have enough desire to grow as much as you can, you will achieve success. When the boulder gets to the top all it will take is a little bit of well placed effort (experience) on your part to achieve continued success.
Why do I tell this story? Because every day we set out to achieve our goals and every day many of us quit.
- We quit when it gets tough.
- We quit when life happens.
- We quit when our desire changes
Our momentum (desire) to accomplish our goals is the greatest factor in achieving success. Some mornings you will get out of bed and your desire will be burning intensely. Other mornings, yesterdays fire will have burned you out. How do you make sure that the fire remains steady? Here are five behaviors that will keep your momentum consistent all the way up the hill. Keep in mind that the hill is not perfect. There will be obstacles and possibly even pits to get stuck in. Nevertheless, these behaviors will help you navigate so that your speed (growth) will remain consistent so that you can achieve your ultimate success.
- Avoid Multitasking
Taking your eye off the ball is one of the greatest mistakes people make. Recent studies suggest that people who are texting while they drive are 23 times more likely to get into a car accident than those who have their full attention on the road. What does this have to do with achieving your goals? You are on a journey, just like the driver of a car. Both of you want to get to your destination. If texting while driving can create such a high risk of loss, imagine what can happen when you read while exercising or try to mix family time with writing your new book. Imagine for a moment, how much more productive would you be if you spent dedicated time achieving your dreams and less time letting your dreams compete with the rest of our life.
- Write it down
Writing down your goals moves you more than half way to achieving them. Studies have shown that people who write down their goals and create a plan to achieve them have an 80% greater chance of achieving success than those who fail to write it down. Enough said!
- Finish what you start
Just like mom and dad used to say and it still applies today. We live in a society that is non-stop. We have too many things to do and prioritization is almost always in the moment. You start on one task with the best intentions to finish it and then are distracted…. there's that word again. It's the distractions in our lives that make achieving our goals so difficult. Distractions create a re-prioritization of our goals. It's not uncommon to stop what you are focused on to start another project. You go to the gym and run into some friends. You decide to go for a walk instead… to Starbucks! You are working on this new business idea when suddenly you realize the game is on. When you come back you can't remember where you were so you decide to organize your email. You're in the middle of closing that big sale when suddenly you start thinking that it's going nowhere and change your tactics. Always finish what you start. It's the follow through to completion that will help you achieve your goals.
- Schedule a time
You hear it all the time. "If only I was better at time management I could…" I got news for you, we all get the same 24 hours in a day. It's not the time that needs management, but you. A recent personality profile I took told me that I am motivated by a challenge and that I love to win. It also told me that my personality is the type that likes to be busy. That the time I need to achieve my goals will not magically appear. I remember reading that for the first time and thought to myself, "but they have no idea how busy I am… there just isn't enough time in the day." Then I realized that I was trying to fit things in. I knew that I didn't have any time available, but once I began to schedule the time it turned into a habit. Suddenly my day didn't feel complete without going to the gym or not taking time to write.
- Stay focused on the goal
Regardless of how you feel about the thought of achieving your goal, this is by far the most important factor in making it a reality. Your thoughts, turned into action, have the power to change your life in ways you never dreamed. The power to focus on your goal is nothing more than your ability to imagine yourself achieving it. What will your life be like? How will it change you… your friends… your family? Focus on the results. Focus on your new lifestyle. Focus on your goal and know that no matter what has you down today that in the end the sweet taste of victory will fulfill your greatest desires.
