With the holidays in full swing, it truly is a wonderful time of year!
Unfortunately for many, it’s also followed by the anxiety, fear and despair of the next 12 months…
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to skip those emotions and make this year your best year ever?
Let me help you…
To begin, you must answer this question:
“Who will I be 12 months from now?”
When we dream about our lives (and we should) it’s common to focus on the things we wish to have or milestones we hope to accomplish:
• a new home
• a new car
• lose a few kg’s
• a holiday
• a new career
While these are all very legitimate goals to strive for, we often fall short and in turn, blame it on our circumstances or worse, blame our failure on someone else.
In reality, the problem was most likely:
Your strategy – you were simply doing the wrong things.
Your work ethic – you weren’t consistently taking action over a long enough period of time.
The good news is both of these issues can be solved.
You could search out the “right” things to do and you could strong-arm yourself to do them consistently.
The first is simple enough, the second…not so much.
This is where many people repeat their cycle of failure.
DREAM -> PLAN -> LACK OF CONSISTENT ACTION -> FAIL -> DECREASED SELF-ESTEEM -> REPEAT
This brings us back to our question and why you must answer this question to succeed in 2019.
“Who will I be 12 months from now?”
Who will I be, not only what do I want…
Will you work to become the type of person who is willing to do what is necessary to become successful?
Here are step by step instructions for beginning to answer this question and make 2019 your best yet!
STEP ONE – AUDIT SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE
What character traits to do ultra successful people exhibit?
Integrity, passion, optimism, self-responsibility, patience and drive just to name a few.
Start with an exhaustive list of the character traits common to successful people and make note of the traits you habitually exhibit and the ones you are lacking.
STEP TWO – BUILD POSITIVE HABITS
Thinking about who you want/need to be, will not on its own turn you into that person. It’s only through consistent action that you will develop yourself into the type of person required to meet your goals.
One lesson to learn from successful people is the importance of positive habits. Use this concept and apply it to the character traits you’d like to add to your personal list.
For example, if optimism is a trait you want to develop, start every day by writing a list of 3 things you are looking forward to.
STEP THREE – AWARENESS & ACCOUNTABILITY
There is no quick fix for building the character traits that will yield success in your life.
Once you’ve created the list of character traits required for your success, and you’ve identified a positive habit that will help you develop each one, the next step is to pay attention. Try to catch yourself when you fall back into old patterns and quickly course correct.
Apps like Habit List can be helpful in holding yourself accountable.
PRO TIP
Don’t wait for the ‘right time’ to become the person you will need to become. If success in all areas of life is on your wish list – your new life starts now!
By waiting you only dig yourself into a deeper hole. Set aside time as soon as possible to start this process.
THE POINT
While defining what you want is very important to your future success, it’s “who you are” that precedes both and that won’t change unless you commit to taking the correct actions to develop yourself.
What do you think are the top 3 character traits for building extraordinary success?
What are you committed to achieving in 2019?
Let us know in the comments!
