When I was in the second grade my mother signed me up for piano lessons. I was excited as it was something fun and new to learn. Admittedly though, I am easily distracted and if it wasn’t for a disciplined mother, I would have quit in the first year. After all – on a sunny day the last thing I wanted to do was practice piano after school when I could bike over to a friend’s house to play instead. When I would try to opt out my Mom would march me back to the piano to practice every day. Thanks to her I stuck with it and now am grateful I can sit at a piano and play anytime.
Still, as an adult, I find myself easily distracted. Can you relate? Talking to some of the entrepreneurs that I coach about this, we agreed it is easy to get distracted by everything going on – especially when you are trying to manage multiple responsibilities like running a business and raising a family. You can get buried in your work, and busy putting out the day-to-day fires that you unknowingly lose track of what is really important.
What is the most important thing you have to do, to start, or to finish in this next year? What is that one thing that you have kept putting off, saying “I will get to this later?” “I know this is important – I will get to this later.” “I am just too busy right now; I will get to this later.” And then a year, 5 years, a decade goes by and the distractions of living on automatic have left you standing in the same place.
No matter what you do, life does happen. A year from now, a decade from now, there will be results in your life. These can be positive results – a life of abundance, freedom of time, strong relationships, high energy, or the opposite – a life of scarcity and struggle.
Choose a life of abundance and determine the most important thing you need to do right now:
- Ask yourself what you have been putting off. If you listen to your gut it will tell you. It’s that thing that you keep telling yourself you should do – that you are going to get to it, but you’ve allowed other things to get in the way. Perhaps it is that degree you would like to finish; the new career you want to start; the relationship you need to mend.
- Identify the most important thing you need to do and write it down. This year I will ____________________________. Just the act of writing down a purpose filled goal gives you a significantly better chance of achieving it. Think about how it will feel to set that goal, something you really want to have happen, and then see it through.
- Create a specific action plan to accomplish your goal. The more detailed your action plan the better your results will be. Set up a regular appointment with yourself to review your progress. If you want help with this check out my Success Goals Online Course and learn a proven process to set big goals and achieve them.
What is the most important thing you have to do, to start, or to finish in this next year? Get started on the most important thing. Do it now. Be willing to do the work and make this next year your best year.