“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”
January 31, 2017 marked the end of the first month of 2017. I know you do not need me to state the obvious, but you may need me to remind you to stay focused to achieve the goals you set for yourself to achieve in 2017.
If your first thought was that you know that focus, follow up and follow through are the exact steps that helped you become successful AND you don’t need me to remind you…
Pause…
The perseverance you need to get focused today is different than it was even yesterday. You have most likely invested a lot of time thinking about the next set of goals you wanted to achieve.
I am willing to bet, however, that you have invested little to no time examining if you have to make adjustments in some other part of your life and schedule in order to actually create the time to achieve the goal.
Let’s look at a small business owner who is dependent on attracting new customers to build their business. This applies to everyone from insurance brokers to dentists. You go to a meeting or hire an executive coach and you set a plan for attracting new customers that includes everything from a new and improved Social Media strategy to reaching out to five satisfied former customers to ask for referrals.
The plan is set. Week 1 you put “contact 5 satisfied former customers today” and “locate the best Social Media strategist” on your daily calendar. From the start, what you did not put on your calendar is the time it would take to think through the total list of customers to work from or the time it would take to find, vet and select a Social Media strategist.
By Week 4, you are going around in a circle — you might make a few calls a day, if any, as a name pops into your head and are possibly responding to every suggestion for social media professionals.
Week 5, fear shows up in the form of frustration. You are not used to failing and right now you are no further ahead then you were when you set the goals. You are convinced that you do not have the time to fit the goals into your schedule. You can make excuses or you can achieve your goals.
Focus, follow up and follow through. Look back on your 2017 list of goals. What are the real first steps you need to take? Hint…One of them is not being frustrated at me for stating the obvious. Happy February. The month of Love.
