St. Augustine said, “Dear Lord, I want to be good … but later on, not just yet.”
I think that’s how most of us feel a lot of the time. We want to be better, thinner, smarter, healthier, wealthier, etc. But often, the changes we need to make in order to achieve these things become the very stumbling blocks to being good (and getting better) in various areas of our lives.
Change can be hard; and when, exactly, do we have time to focus on change?
The answer is right now. The New Year is the one time of the year when we are full of promise and promises. It’s really the only time when we get an official and authentic “do over.” The rest of the year it’s “game on.” Our work and life schedules are so incredibly busy that we don’t have the opportunity—or make the opportunity—for a “do over.”
With the prospect of a fresh start happening right now (and the certainty that you’ll only get busier), I’d like to offer the first of three keys to success in 2013. Embrace these strategies, and I guarantee you will do what you do better.
First, focus on your habits, especially those good habits that lead to success. Your habits—good or bad—determine your degree of success in anything you do. Think of habits as a kind of behavioral autopilot. Be authentic with yourself and consider this: Are your habits steering you toward what you want to achieve? Or are they turning you in the opposite direction?
Believe in Yourself
One of the most important habits you can develop is the habit of believing in yourself. Let’s turn to football to discuss:
Consider two football teams that find themselves in very different circumstances heading into their last games of the season. One team is 9 – 1, while the other is 1 – 9. The more successful team is in the habit of winning, while the other team is in the habit of losing. What would happen if both of these teams found themselves down 20 points early in the third quarter? The numbers and situation might be the same, but they’ll have very different beliefs in their ability to come from behind and win. Team 1, with a habit of winning and a history of success, has confidence that they can ultimately win, no matter what the circumstances; On the other hand, Team 2 has a habit of failing and very little confidence in coming out ahead. Chances are, they won’t.
In business, it’s the same thing. If you find yourself coming into this year dogged by bad habits and dwelling on thoughts of a losing (or less than stellar) last year, you begin at a disadvantage.
You need to get in the good habit of forgetting the past, because there is no future in last year! This isn’t easy, so I suggest some type of accountability partner and/or mentor to help you stay on track, boost your confidence, develop (and keep) good habits and focus on success.
If you are not where you want to be, you gotta do something different. Even if you are at the top of your game, you still have to have a winning strategy going forward.
Here’s a simple step for starting off right: Look for early wins in whatever you are trying to do. Financial guru Dave Ramsey talks about getting out of debt using his “Debt Snowball Plan.” He says to ignore the logic of paying off the highest interest rate debts first; instead, he says, you should go ahead and pay off the smallest debts to give yourself some momentum.
Long-term success is about finding short-term small successes along the way. Get in the good habit of this. Start today.