That’s right, the next 4 days are it.
Do you want 2015 to be the best year of your life? Sure you do. Who doesn’t?
But here’s the trap of the unmotivated…
They think simply turning the page of the calendar from one year to the next… makes last year’s flops and ills disappear forever… and magically gift-wraps and delivers to their doorstep a host of new riches, effortless triumphs, and nothing but sunshine and soft landings.
Good luck with that.
Here’s the rude awakening: On Jan. 1, nothing will have changed. You’ll wake up to the exact same world you left before the clock struck 12.
Grocery prices will be right where they were the day before. Education still expensive. Wars still being fought. Businesses still struggling. The government still screwed up. Unemployment still high. Evil people still doing villainous things. No bucket of cash will be left on your doorstep. And if you’re in a job or relationship that brings you no joy, both will still be there too.
The world doesn’t snap to attention and change for the better just because the ball drops on Times Square. Never has. And it won’t this time either.
Don’t mistake this for pessimism. It’s just the cold reality of life.
The point: 2015 will not be your best ever if all you do different is cross your fingers, carry a rabbit’s foot, nail a horseshoe over the door, wait by the phone… and hope.
Takes more than that. Much more. You can’t change the world, but YOU CAN CHANGE YOU.
You’ve got to… launch off the couch, energize our attitude, dream loftier, plan better, immerse yourself in new learning, acquire new skills, seek new ventures, unleash your passions, throw caution to the wind, banish negative thinking, take action.
ACTIONS FOR YOU
Do you really want a super 2015? Enough to do whatever it takes?
If yes, then get serious. Over the next 4 days, find quiet time for yourself to PLAN the outcomes you passionately want in the next 12 months. Write them down (they’re goals!), each on a separate sheet of paper (or electronic).
For each goal…
Give it a target deadline for completion… generate a list of benefits that will come to you once done (to keep you self-motivated)… list resources you’ll need and how you’ll acquire them… note obstacles you might encounter and how you’ll overcome each… create written, sequential, time-dated action steps toward achievement… and sign your name to the bottom, as if it were a legal contract. (Then treat it as a legal contact, even if it’s only between you and you.)
Put it all in a binder -- it’s now your 2015 life blueprint -- and review it every day, preferably early in the morning. Take action and hit your deadlines. Stay focused and on-path. Navigate around obstacles, or plow straight through. Let nothing derail you. Not family, not friends, not co-workers. (Oh, you’ll have detractors, including loved ones. Ignore them.) Track your progress, celebrate your wins.
THAT’s how you make next year your best ever. By taking control. By owning it. By being CEO of your own life.
Research abounds verifying that goal-setters and action-takers are the most successful people among us. My favorite is the Yale study. Some years back at a 20-year reunion, returning seniors were asked if they set goals for themselves upon graduation 20 years earlier, and how much money they currently made. Turns out, only 3% set goals back then. And here’s the kicker. That 3% out-earned the other 97%… combined.
Surprised? Don’t be. That’s the power of goal setting.
The clock is ticking… 4 days. Get moving.
Do you want 2015 to be the best year of your life? Sure you do. Who doesn’t?
But here’s the trap of the unmotivated…
They think simply turning the page of the calendar from one year to the next… makes last year’s flops and ills disappear forever… and magically gift-wraps and delivers to their doorstep a host of new riches, effortless triumphs, and nothing but sunshine and soft landings.
Good luck with that.
Here’s the rude awakening: On Jan. 1, nothing will have changed. You’ll wake up to the exact same world you left before the clock struck 12.
Grocery prices will be right where they were the day before. Education still expensive. Wars still being fought. Businesses still struggling. The government still screwed up. Unemployment still high. Evil people still doing villainous things. No bucket of cash will be left on your doorstep. And if you’re in a job or relationship that brings you no joy, both will still be there too.
The world doesn’t snap to attention and change for the better just because the ball drops on Times Square. Never has. And it won’t this time either.
Don’t mistake this for pessimism. It’s just the cold reality of life.
The point: 2015 will not be your best ever if all you do different is cross your fingers, carry a rabbit’s foot, nail a horseshoe over the door, wait by the phone… and hope.
Takes more than that. Much more. You can’t change the world, but YOU CAN CHANGE YOU.
You’ve got to… launch off the couch, energize our attitude, dream loftier, plan better, immerse yourself in new learning, acquire new skills, seek new ventures, unleash your passions, throw caution to the wind, banish negative thinking, take action.
ACTIONS FOR YOU
Do you really want a super 2015? Enough to do whatever it takes?
If yes, then get serious. Over the next 4 days, find quiet time for yourself to PLAN the outcomes you passionately want in the next 12 months. Write them down (they’re goals!), each on a separate sheet of paper (or electronic).
For each goal…
Give it a target deadline for completion… generate a list of benefits that will come to you once done (to keep you self-motivated)… list resources you’ll need and how you’ll acquire them… note obstacles you might encounter and how you’ll overcome each… create written, sequential, time-dated action steps toward achievement… and sign your name to the bottom, as if it were a legal contract. (Then treat it as a legal contact, even if it’s only between you and you.)
Put it all in a binder -- it’s now your 2015 life blueprint -- and review it every day, preferably early in the morning. Take action and hit your deadlines. Stay focused and on-path. Navigate around obstacles, or plow straight through. Let nothing derail you. Not family, not friends, not co-workers. (Oh, you’ll have detractors, including loved ones. Ignore them.) Track your progress, celebrate your wins.
THAT’s how you make next year your best ever. By taking control. By owning it. By being CEO of your own life.
Research abounds verifying that goal-setters and action-takers are the most successful people among us. My favorite is the Yale study. Some years back at a 20-year reunion, returning seniors were asked if they set goals for themselves upon graduation 20 years earlier, and how much money they currently made. Turns out, only 3% set goals back then. And here’s the kicker. That 3% out-earned the other 97%… combined.
Surprised? Don’t be. That’s the power of goal setting.
The clock is ticking… 4 days. Get moving.
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