As the year winds down, you've probably assessed your accomplishments and determined what it will take to make next year successful.
So now what? Well, in the words of Zig Ziglar,
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”
That sums up the next step quite well.
Goals and plans without action are just words on a page. But where should we start? What action will you need to unlock that will really drive personal performance? What’s the most important behavior that will help you hit your goals? When you really think about it, goals are created to establish new habits, and habits are ingrained behaviors.
Here are five tips to get your action plan and behaviors on track.
- Simplify your focus by categorizing your goals like new business, personal income, savings, professional development, relationship or family and bucket list items.
- Drill into each category to find what specifically needs to change. Do you have to embrace a new attitude to see the impact of making the change and keep your focus? Or do you have to change a specific behavior that puts you in a better position to execute your goal? Do you believe in your goals and have your behavior plan in place, but need to learn a new technique or process to become truly effective?
- Get to the root cause. Figure out what specific action you will need to start or stop doing to unlock the biggest result.
- Set traps for yourself. Behavior patterns are ingrained so sometimes you must force yourself to take action to change behavior.
- Measure and track if the activity is occurring as planned and if it’s moving you toward the intended result.
- Be patient and reward yourself for taking action. Change does not happen overnight; it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become a habit. If you manage change properly by focusing on behaviors, you should be rewarded for doing what you set out to do. The result may not happen right away but if you stick with your behavioral plan, it will.
Don't look back at your goals in February or March with a mixture of stress, denial, and regret because you didn't follow through. Apply these 5 goal-setting tips and turn your goals into results!
Eric Warner, the founder and president of Praxis Growth Advisors, is an award-winning sales trainer, leadership development specialist and accomplished sales process strategist. He has more than 25 years of experience leading teams, building businesses and driving complex sales processes.
