If you took the steps outlined over the last two entries you should have one or a couple of short, inspiring mission statements that vividly describe the universe, experientially, of life (or business) once you have fulfilled your New Year’s resolution. If it is done properly, it is not a correction of anything currently wrong or comparative to anything right now, nor is it a pie-in-the-sky, magical conjuring. Here are some examples from clients (with their permission):
Hopefully yours excites you and inspires you as their did them. The idea is to begin 2016 with gusto!
So you have a mission! Now what? Well, that mission defines the world when you have completed a year. But you can’t work on the end result. Instead, you have to work on the next step. So, lets use a pretty clear example. Imagine that your resolution was to run a marathon. Well, the two most important pieces of information you have are the distance of the marathon (26.2 miles) and the distance you can run today (let’s say, 1/2 mile). You have one year. Without getting into any exercise science, let’s assume that the year can be divided into even pie slices of one month each, so divide the distance by 12 and you get 2.1 miles. So 2.1 is the goal for the first 30 days. That sounds a lot more manageable than 26.2 miles, and is probably an achievable outcome with a clear, daily plan.
Well the same principle can work for most any resolution. But you need the same two key components, the measurement for the final accomplishment, and the current analogous measurement. If your mission is to double your income, then you will have to know precisely what your 2015 income is. And break the doubled number into 12 portions, with a goal to accomplish the first month’s income.
There are important caveats to this principle. For many domains –money, weight and athletics being just a few –the rate of increase will not be identical each month. Weight tends to come off faster and then plateau, so it may make sense to set goals as you go, always with an eye on the end-game, and to have behavioral goals that are dynamic, based on how the weight loss is going (that’s where a great coach can really help keep you on the mission). With income, it can be the opposite. You may increase your earning incrementally, but ultimately the rate of increase can go up, so the actions you need to take will change with that process. So you can see, while this approach is absolutely solid, the nuances are unique to your mission. But for today, the important thing is to take your mission and convert it into a measurable goal for one year from tomorrow. Clear? Good. Tomorrow’s entry will address how to get started on developing your first incremental goal and taking those first behavioral or action steps. After all, on Friday morning, you begin!
Here’s the most important part of this overall approach. Never get hooked into “working on the actions”. Think about, envision, and work on YOUR MISSION. The actions and interim goals are tools to accomplish the mission. If you can keep truing yourself up to the inspiring world you have created, the behavioral changes, discipline, willpower and everything else will not feel like chores, but like natural expressions of your being a missionary for your own success!
I hope you’re as excited about your 2016 mission as I am about mine!
For a free consult to learn how coaching can help you succeed in 2016, contact me.
