Habits for Success – Know Your “Why”
When you go on a journey, you know your starting point, desired destination, and how you are going to get there. If you want to bring success into your life, then those same elements are essential. To create success, you must know what success means to you. Success is different for everyone, so there is no ‘one size fits all’ way to achieve it.
To discover what success means to you is a simple process. Follow the steps below, and you can create a plan to achieve the success you desire in whatever area of your personal or professional life you choose. You will discover the success habits you need to build into your life to achieve your goal.
First, you need to decide what you want to achieve (your goal) to be successful. Write it down. Be very descriptive and use the present tense.
Write down why achieving this is important to you. What does it mean to you? How motivated are you to accomplish this goal?
Then, write down how you will feel when you achieve your goal. How will your life change? Again, be very descriptive and write using the present tense. Here are two examples:
“I take a deep breath every evening when I open the door to my new home because not only is it orderly and beautiful, it gives me a great sense of accomplishment and ownership to realize I did this on my own.”
“My classmates will be happy to see me at the reunion when I confidently deliver the keynote address. Many will compliment me on my stunning new dress, not knowing it is two sizes smaller than I wore just six months ago.”
Next, write down your current situation and how that makes you feel. Although that is how you feel right now, try writing it in the past tense. This will begin to change the way you think about your situation and move towards creating the success you want. Your mind will start to distance itself from your current situation and begin to believe that you are moving towards your goal.
Here are some examples:
“I worked diligently to be credit-worthy for my bank mortgage by raising my credit score and worked with my real estate agent to find the perfect home for me.”
“My three-days a week at the gym paid off when I noticed my stamina had increased and that I could easily slip into my jeans. Plus, I did a lot of research and editing to my speech to make it inspiring and funny.”
You now have your starting and ending points on your journey to success. Now you need to fill in how you are going to get there.
What needs to change in your situation to get you from where you are to your goal of success? Write down each step. You will find that you will need to look at your mindset, behavior, and habits.
Identify potential blocks to achieving your goal. Write them down and add how you will overcome them.
By completing these tasks, you are undertaking one of the critical steps for success habits; goal setting. You are also learning to understand your motivations better, which leads to self-knowledge and a positive mindset. Both will help you identify your goal, understand what success means to you, and create a plan that will help you achieve it.
To achieve success, you need to understand what success is, and what it means to you. “Yes, you can do better and be better.” Should you need help setting up your personal action plan, contact me.