So it’s the first day in February and I have a question…How many of you have managed to stick to the resolutions/goals you set at the beginning of the year? I know a couple of my friends who have but more who haven’t. So what makes the successful people different and how can you get back on the horse and start again if you are one of those who haven’t YET succeeded?
So where do I start?
Firstly, those people who have succeeded have probably set a SMART goal! A goal that is specific (you know exactly what it is you want to achieve), measurable (you will know when you have succeeded), achievable (there is no point setting yourself a goal that is too far out of the remit), relevant (a goal that is worthwhile) and time-bound (you know how long it will take to achieve and you know you have enough time to work on it in the time frame). Importantly you need to ask yourself ‘is my goal motivational?’ If not you have little or no chance of achieving it. Secondly, once you have decided upon your SMART goal, do you have a plan? Knowing what the bigger picture looks like is great but you need to break it down into bite sized chunks. Writing your goal and your plan down is also really helpful and never underestimate the power of ticking off your mini achievements from a larger list. Just because you haven’t been successful in January does not mean you can’t be successful in February. Stay positive and try to ascertain what knocked you off your journey the first time so that you can ensure you don’t repeat it this time around.
Consider you Mindset
You would have noticed in the first paragraph that I wrote ‘if you haven’t succeeded YET’ and that is an important point and very much part of having a Growth Mindset instead of a Fixed Mindset (see any work on Mindset by Carol Dweck). Someone with a Growth Mindset is more aware of their potential, believing they can try anything they want to, they will persevere and if they fail they will see that as a learning and simply try again. This is in contrast to someone with a Fixed Mindset who believes they are either good or not at something and will give up quite quickly if the going gets tough. People in this group don’t like to be challenged and immediately think that when they have failed they are simply no good. If you want to have a greater chance of succeeding at the things you want to try you need to develop more of a Growth Mindset:
- Acknowledging and accepting imperfections
- Viewing challenges as opportunities
- Replacing the word ‘failing’ with ‘learning’
- Valuing the process over the end result
- Using the word ‘yet’
With that in mind, when you wake up this morning get the right mindset on your shoulders and look forward with positivity. You CAN do it this time around because this time you will have a better plan, you have written it down and you have the attitude to succeed.