We're almost halfway though the first month of the year. How are you doing on turning your goals into reality?
Maybe you're just now getting back into a routine after the kids have headed back to school.
Maybe you needed time to put a few things in place before you could really start.
Maybe you have had to wait on the end or start of other things in your life.
I get it. Grace to you my friend if you have been struggling to move forward. There is no condemnation here. No matter what the start of your year has looked like, today is a new day. Yesterday is over, and it's mistakes and frustrations no longer have any hold on you.
What you choose to do with this day will make a difference though. Will you choose to see your lack of progress as a "failure" and stop altogether? Or, will you see that same lack of progress as motivation, learn from it, and take a step forward?
Your choice has the potential for major impact on your success this year.
Planning for success meas admitting you will not be perfect in your execution of the master plan you might have, but that you will keep moving forward anyway. You will make mistakes like falling back into old patterns of behavior and experience set back as a result of your own choices, but that can't stop you from achieving your goals unless you chose to stop.
So, do you want to plan for success this year? Here are a few ways.
Admit you will need grace daily. Change is hard, especially change that involves activities that put your needs above others' (as in making time to exercise to take care of your physical health). Grace covers a multitude of mistakes, including those where you say yes when you should have said no and vice versa.
Start again. No matter how many times you fall out of the new routine or schedule you are trying to create, start again. Failure only comes when we give up completely.
Be held accountable. Who knows the plans you have for change and growth? You might be tempted to think that if you keep your goals to yourself, you will be safe and can work in secret. This is a huge mistake. Sharing your plans with trusted friends or professionals (as in a nutritionist, or Schedule Management Coach) gives you access to courage when yours runs low, motivation when you've lost yours, and an outsider's perspective on how to get back on track when you've lost your way.
Develop a Calendar Habit. A Calendar Habit is where you politely ask for time to consult your schedule before you say yes or no to something. Saying yes to something always means having to say no to something else. Developing this habit gives you the opportunity to keep yourself focused on what's most important to you.
Use a System. Success doesn't just happen. Successful people put systems in place to help them achieve their goals. Not only that, they actually use their system. Having a clear, visual image of my life on paper has been the ONE thing that has kept me focused in some of the most intense seasons of growth and change in my life. But it wouldn't have helped me if I didn't use it.
No matter where you find yourself today on the path to achieving your goals, don't give up. There is a way to be successful this year.
I am offering my personal Schedule Management System for FREE when you sign up to become a Calm the Chaos insider. (mobile: sign up at the bottom of this post. desktop: sign up at the top of the page, right)
Each month I will email you new material to add to it and offer teachings on how to best use the system. (I did a Facebook Live event on Monday Jan. 9, 2017 to teach how to use my Schedule Tracker tool.) You can find January's event here: Facebook Live Event (it is a post that I have pinned to the top).
Join the Conversation: What is one thing that is derailing your forward progress so far? Leave a comment below in the Facebook comments section!