Dear All,
This January, when I wrote ‘Fake priorities,’ I promised myself: post again only once I achieve my 24th birthday goals. More than half a year later, I have finally ticked that box.
In retrospect, there were 5 actions I followed that made it possible. They all link to – surprise! – understanding, leading and managing yourself.
5 actions to help you achieve your goals – addressing understanding, leading and managing yourself
- Be convinced of and committed to your goals: One of my values is integrity. Hence, I needed to understand why I underdelivered on my own aspirations. Interestingly, I realized that I was not convinced at all and even questioning my goals. To overcome the barrier, I reached out to experts. ‘Cleared’ by them, I felt empowered to act.
- Create ‘lighthouses:’ Sometimes it’s tough to navigate. I built in deliberate lighthouse moments in my everyday life. For example, I started following people I looked up to, and identified role models in my daily life. That also amplified my commitment.
- Remove distractors: The above also meant that I needed to be more deliberate about whom I spend time with or which part of my life I speak about. Some people keep talking you out of your goals, often totally unprompted. Corona helped here a lot, as each in-person interaction carried(/s) an individual and societal health risk.
- Plan for failure, or – set-up for success: We all fail on the path towards our goals. I thought through my full funnel of ‘failing’ and built-in safety mechanisms at core moments. In essence, poka-yoke for myself. I know my triggers and/or the time of the day when I am weak. The poka-yoke manipulations either made it impossible to fall victim to my habit loop(s) or prolonged the moment between trigger and reaction.
- Celebrate success, also along the way: You have to stay motivated, and small joyful rewards help a lot! It’s important to have in-between milestones, too, in order to re-evaluate and ensure you are still on the right path. Just make sure your reward is not acting against your goal – it’s probably not ideal to smoke a cigarette if you are about to quit.
I like the image of a tank – whatever comes your way, you just carry on
I’d like to emphasize the amplifying ‘Corona’ effect on 3 and 4. Avoiding distractors (and energy vampires) is much easier if you need to set up a call with them first. Work from home gives you the ability to shape new routines, with elements that nudge you into the desired behavior without you even noticing.
As life went back to almost normal for me, it was and is key to stay true to my new behaviors. This means being vigilant and identifying triggers and distractors and ensuring to stay on the trajectory. I like the image of a tank – whatever comes your way, you just carry on.
If you are now wondering about my priorities which occupied me for this many years – be my guest and read my guide to getting strong & lean.
Take care,
Katia