Here you are, midway through 2019.
This is usually a great time to review where you are, reassess any goals that need to be tweaked and determine if it’s time to readjust before the year's end.
Lately, many of my potential clients have come to me with these concerns:
“I had a great list of goals at the beginning of the year and seem to be losing steam as the months go by.”
“I know what I’m supposed to be doing, but for whatever reason, I can’t find the motivation to get things going.”
“I have goals I know I want to accomplish but haven’t had time to get to them.”
You've probably heard things like this from friends or peers. Maybe you’ve even said it yourself this year. We’ve all been there – many ARE there.
During initial coaching conversations -- the ones that come long before a coaching proposal -- prospects tend to reveal and discover a lot about themselves. I, in turn, tend to see some patterns.
If I had to pick one thing common among goal-seekers who aren't where they want to be, it’s that they lack the practice of dating. When I say dating, I mean:
• Filling your calendar
• Dead-lining your goals
• Putting a date to all the metrics you need to achieve for your desired results
A book I read recently (can’t quite remember which and Google has let me down) said that 99% of people in the U.S. don’t write down their goals. I would have found this shocking, except that I had recently met someone who had never once written down a goal in his life, and he’d just turned 50!
Okay, fine... that leaves us with 1% who are writing them down. While I don’t know the statistic, I can guarantee you that another 100% of those who are writing them down without dates on them, are not accomplishing them.
If you don’t give your goals a deadline, don’t call them goals: call them “wishes.” If one doesn’t hold themselves accountable to a date, they may as well look for the nearest lamp and get to rubbing.
Does this sound familiar?
• This year I’m going to do 12 workshops.
• This year I’m going to write a book.
• This year I’m going to do 2 retreats.
• This year I’m going to take 5 vacations.
All of the above is achievable. Anyone can accomplish goals like these because they'renota big deal. In fact, I don’t care if these numbers were 10 times higher for each of these goals, I’d still argue with you that they are achievable IF and only IF you get them on your calendar.
But when we set dateless goals, they lack urgency. A time-constraint is the ultimate inspiration – even if you tend to do things at the last minute! Without time, there’s no motivation to take immediate action. That’s a sure-fire way to set yourself up for the procrastination hamster wheel.
When you don’t set a date, you give yourself permission to keep changing the finish line. Actually, the finish line doesn’t even exist! The only way to accomplish your goals is to take action and get to work.The best way to do that is to give yourself a firm deadline and stick to it!
So here are a few things you can do right now to get on track and still make this a strong year:
1) Grow a pair! First, don’t be afraid of setting dates for yourself. Make a commitment that you will beat the discomfort that comes with setting some firm deadlines.
2) Calendar it! Get your calendar out right now and start scheduling those workshops, retreats, webinars, vacations, and book chapter deadlines. If you do not have a physical calendar, stop what you’re doing, order one on Amazon, and then come back to this page.
I’m sure you employ the use of a digital calendar to simplify your day and keep tabs on what's coming up. That’s fine, but not for your goals. I want you to get something big and unavoidable that you can write on and cross out when you complete tasks and achieve goals.
3) Put your money where your mouth is! Are you serious about those workshops, retreats, vacations, etc? Well, we’re going to test that. Now that you have those dates on your calendar, call the venues or destinations where you want to have those events including vacations.
• Call around
• Book the dates with them
• PAY THE DEPOSIT
• On your calendar, break down the tasks to promote, outline, prepare and make your events the success you know they can be.
4) GET. TO. WORK! Take action. Wake up an hour earlier than you do right now (unless you wake up after nine, then start waking up 3 hours earlier than you do now). Use that extra time to focus just on the tasks to be completed toward your new deadline.
When you respect time and use it to your advantage, your achievements will amaze you. So go on – grab your calendar and start dating.
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