We’ve all seen the stats…
The amount of people who actually realize their New Year’s Resolutions is pathetically low…
In fact, according to this study, it’s only 8%!!
Why is this?
I mean, according to the god-father of Self-Esteem, Dr. Nathaniel Branden goal setting and living a purposeful life is engrained in our DNA (and one of the 6 Pillars Of Self-Esteem.)
So why do so many people fail?
By no means is the answer to this question a simple one… in fact I think its multi-faceted…
Some of the reasons you’ve heard us talk about before and make up the Think By Design system to creating an extraordinary life:
It is very difficult, if not impossible to reach your goals if you don’t first define your conscious philosophy.
From that philosophy you must then create a crystal clear vision of what you want – your goals… followed by identifying your purpose for wanting to achieve your vision.
And finally, you must create a congruent action plan… and then guess what?? Take action on it! (No you can’t just sit on your couch and dream about it – see my controversial blog article on that topic… I’m still getting hate mail! lol)
Today, I want to cover something different… a bonus strategy… but it requires that you get those first 4 steps completed first…
So if you’ve not done that yet, click HERE to download your copy the complete Think By Design Manual for your step-by-step guide on exactly how to do it.
If you’ve already completed all that, then please pass go, collect $200 and keep reading…
Today, I want to share with you another, equally potent strategy for maximizing the likelihood that you attain your goals in 2016 and beyond… I like to call it the “Goal Achievement Secret Sauce.” 🙂
I’m not sure exactly where I first heard of this concept… I didn’t make it up… but, as soon as I heard it a light bulb went off.
It’s really quite simple…
The secret sauce to maximizing (actually, I’ll go so far as to say that if I follow through with this strategy my goals are guaranteed to be achieved… yes I know that sounds to good too be true.. but it’s not) goal achievement is…
Create at least one positive habit for each one of your goals.
Yep, that’s it… simple right!?
First, let’s define a positive habit…
A positive habit is any habit that moves you toward your goal… and of course in contrast a negative goal is any habit that moves you away from it.
So for example:
One of my ongoing goals is to increase my capabilities and knowledge – now I of course follow the SMART strategy for goal setting and depending on the quarter make this goal much more specific and measurable, but for the sake of this example lets keep it simple…
So to ensure I achieve this goal of constantly increasing my knowledge… I add the secret sauce… my positive habit… and in this case, for me, I added a 5am Power Hour… which includes 45 minutes of learning time every morning!
And I know that if I consistently follow through with this habit there is no doubt that I will reach my goal!
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
Let me offer another example:
If one of your goals for 2016 is to eat better (assuming you’ve gone through the Think By Design process) then scheduling food prep time every Sunday to prepare healthy food for the entire week in advance would be a powerful positive habit that would significantly increase your chance (if not guarantee) of accomplishing your goal.
One last tip…
Once you’ve identified positive habits for each of your goals, I encourage you to make use of some of the really cool technology out there to track them a la Benjamin Franklin tracking his virtues. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Click HERE to read more about how Franklin tracked his virtues… it’s a pretty cool story.)
My favourite app is called Habit List. It’s simple and easy to use.
I check it once in the morning and once before i go to bed… checking it in the morning helps me to stay mindful of what I need to do that day… and checking it in the evening helps me to reflect and grade myself to see how I did.
So each and every day my focus is solely on completing my positive habits (with the help of Habit List)… because I know if I complete them my goals WILL become a reality.
What about you? What habits have helped you achieve your goals? Please comment below and let me know.
Dr. Michael Gibson has committed himself to helping others to live the best life possible. After graduating with a Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario, he received his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree and Masters of Science in Chiropractic Sports Science from Life University. He is the co-creator of Life By Design, owner of The Wellness Group, and co-owner of CrossFit 613.
His passion for empowering families runs deep. After experiencing the loss of his sister due to illness, Michael’s purpose became reaching and teaching as many as possible the foundational principles of an extraordinary life. Since that time he has passionately pursued and been successful in living out his dream. He maintains a busy family chiropractic practice, a full speaking schedule and finds time to implement the principles and practices of Life By Design in his own life.
[…] written extensively on the power of habits and I encourage you to go back and read this article to understand their importance as well as the most effective strategies to break negative habits […]