In my article Create Your Future Nostalgia, I shared details on the visioning portion of the process for creating what’s most important. Once you have your clear vision, it’s going to take some ACTION to get there. Here’s how to create your “Future Nostalgia” TODAY!
Get into ACTION:
Take a look at your vision and take the time to break it down into smaller steps. These steps can be Quarterly, Monthly, and Weekly goals or milestones. Markers along the way of your journey to help gauge your progress, assess your strategies, and make any adjustments to your plans.
Strengthen Your Habits:
It’s important to develop some strong daily habits for success. What are those things you need to be doing EACH DAY to move you towards your goals? Is it calling 5 new prospects, reading some inspirational quotes to maintain your motivation, planning your day, tracking the previous day’s progress, or sending 3 personal notes to current clients? Remember what Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
Maintain Your Momentum:
Momentum is defined as “strength or force gained by motion or through the development of events”.
Once you get into action, maintaining that action and taking more small steps towards your goal will fuel your enthusiasm and create momentum. Here’s a 3-Step Recipe for maintaining your momentum:
1: REVIEW YOUR PLANS
The best way to maintain momentum is to regularly review your plans. You won’t know how you’re doing if you’re not reviewing plans and gauging your success.
It’s not about making yourself feel bad or guilty for not hitting the mark, but to see what’s working, what’s not, and what needs altering. Make your plan reviews FUN and rewarding. I’ve had clients who schedule a “Starbucks Meeting” with themselves each week to have their favorite hot beverage while reviewing their plan and scheduling their week. I personally like to do my plan reviews during a pedicure! What would make it fun and inviting for you?
2: CELEBRATE SUCCESSES
Celebrate each success and mile marker along the way…regardless of how small! That will help to feed your energy, increase excitement and keep the momentum rolling! It doesn’t have to be anything huge or even expensive. The key is to acknowledge yourself for what you have completed and give yourself a treat or pat on the back. We’re often our own worst critics and the first to kick ourselves in the pants when we aren’t producing, so be fair and reward yourself too!
3: BE ACCOUNTABLE
The real secret to success is accountability! You’re likely a person of your word, except when committing to yourself. It’s easy to let yourself off the hook or say, “I’ll get that done tomorrow or next week”. That’s where an accountability partner can be there to point out where you might be giving up on yourself, brainstorm ways around whatever obstacle is keeping you down, and encourage you to persevere.
The American Society for Training & Development’s research shows that being accountable to someone else AND having an “accountability appointment” with that person increases your odds of success to 95%. Good accountability sources can include a mentor, a peer group, trusted friend who believes in you, or a Mastermind group. I may be biased, but I believe the ultimate accountability partner is a COACH!
The Guilt-Free Coach