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Creating a Pattern of Success
Rev. Dr. Kitty Boitnott, NBCT, RScP
Heart-Centered Career Transition & Job Search Coach | Possibility Thinker
We have all experienced success at some point in our lives. You may feel that you have many accomplishments. Once you experience one success, you can look back and see that you can achieve all success pretty much the same way again and again. In a nutshell, it is a process that is repeatable. The steps are simple (if not always easy.)
1) Set a goal.
2) Follow through on the tasks that need to be done, thus achieving results.
3) Keep an open mind and learn from others.
4) Track your successes and learn from your failures.
5) Wash, rinse, and repeat the whole process as many times as you want or need.
It works!
You can create a pattern of success in your life by learning the secret that all successful people know. People who are successful are doers. They are action takers. They follow through on their plans.
Generally speaking, they are not smarter than anyone else. In fact, it is possible you are smarter than they are with a higher IQ. The problem with most people--even very smart ones--is that they don't act on their ideas and plans in a timely fashion. Their failure is in the execution and the follow through on their ideas.
You Can Become a Goal Setting Expert
Here are some concrete steps you can take starting today to become more successful.
Create the best goals for yourself.
Your goals should be something that can be done. In other words, they should be "specific." A goal also needs to be "measurable" so you can determine when you have met your goal. Most of all, make sure it's a goal that you want to achieve. You see where this is going? You want to use the SMART Goals method for creating goals that will lead you to success.
People who achieve success are doers. They take action. They may think about their goal long enough to have a clear vision in their head of what they want. But they take meaningful action. Otherwise, the idea withers away from inaction. If you want to get something done, schedule it. Put it on your calendar. Give yourself a deadline for activities that need to be completed along the way. If you schedule a time instead of putting it on a generic to-do list, you will come closer to getting it done.
For example, let's say you have set a goal to write a 80,000-word novel by the end of this year. Then you should know how many pages you need to write each week. You need to schedule the days you can work on it. Commit to which times and what hours on those days. Calculate how long it takes you to write a page. Then write. Successful writers write. They don't wait for inspiration to strike. They schedule it, and then they do it. The same is true for anything else you want to achieve. Don't wait until you want to do it. Schedule it.
There are a lot of things that need to be done, but that can escalate easily into busy work. Busy work doesn't get you to your goal. Bookkeeping, for instance, is something that can be accomplished with software. You can schedule payments to happen automatically. You can also use software that enters everything for you in the ledger. Free up time to focus on your scheduled activities. Focus on how to achieve your goal. Automate--or delegate--the busy work that must be done but you don't need to do.
To be a success doesn't mean you have to do everything yourself. Youíre not on your own. The best scientists, professors, doctors, lawyers, and CEOs have assistants. You too can hire outside help and contractors to help you do the tasks needed to reach your goals. Other than doing exercise for you, there isn't much you can't outsource today.
Stop Reinventing the Wheel
In most cases, someone has already done it before you. Someone has already worked out the kinks. They've devised a plan of action that will work for you too. Learn from other people's mistakes. Realize that you can gain valuable information from what others are already doing.
They say it takes ten thousand hours of reading about a topic to become an expert on any subject. Keep this in mind as you look toward your future and set your goals. If you want to be an expert, youíll need to start today building up those ten thousand hours. Even if you know nothing about a topic today, you can be an expert in ten thousand hours.
As you set goals to create a pattern of success, it's important that you know what your core values are. Consider your family. Take into account your personal and financial values. Everyone has different areas they need to work on more than others. You need to know what your areas are to set realistic goals that you want to meet.
Nothing is ever done without the paperwork, as they say. Well, that includes creating a pattern of success. Set goals, then tracking and assessing the results as you go. Then repeat what works. That is how you create a pattern of success.
Creating a pattern of success requires knowledge of goal setting. And goal achieving, and in-depth knowledge of yourself. Starting today, you can gain that knowledge and create a real pattern of success in your life.
Until next time.
P.S.
Stay tuned later this week for a special St. Patrick's Day offer that will be coming your way!
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