Success is achieved through effort day after day
“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action,
which makes it the architect of accomplishment.”— Zig Ziglar
Right now, my home is abuzz with Christmas lights and holiday decorations. In the shadow of COVID-19, our family-orientated neighbors are lighting up their houses for Christmas even more than ever. I really enjoy coming home in the evening to see how creative and festive the homes are decorated. The combined effort of everyone makes the place Magical!
WOW! What a year 2020 has been! In a few weeks, this year will be over. For most of us, it can’t happen soon enough. We welcome a New Year with new objectives. If we are not careful February will be upon us and we won’t have our goals written out for 2021. I don’t know about you, but I feel unsettled if I do not have a concise plan with a clear direction penned ahead.
Recently I showed my team the inspiring TED Talk, “How to Achieve your Most Ambitious Goals” by Stephen Duneier. Please do yourself a favor and watch this on YouTube. Duneier reminds us that no matter what the task is, it should be broken down into small mundane steps. Completing one step at a time achieves fantastic results.
“Thinking is a habit, and like any other habit, it can be changed; it just takes effort and repetition.“
John Eliot
Let’s use reading a book as a goal for next year. What if I told you that reading 10 minutes a day would ensure you could read one book a month? I bet knowing this fact wouldn’t change most people’s reading habits. What if you read one chapter, one page, or one line? Duneier suggests making it even easier by starting with ONE WORD. That will lead to two words, three words, one sentence, one page, and soon you can read 50 books in a year as he did. Why don’t people read as much anymore? Reading is powerful.
A few weeks ago, I noticed my 16-year-old daughter was disorganized, eating poorly and not doing her chores. She was rushing through her homework, and not reading her books as promised. So, I introduced “Father Daughter Dinner Date” every Monday at 5 pm. She gets to pick the restaurant we get takeout from. We bond, talk about life and her issues. We discuss changes she would like to see and what she really wants in her life right now. I bought her a journal and chose a book that I want her to read. We wrote down her goals for school, eating, exercise, her morning and evening routines, books she should read and what her rewards would be when the goals were achieved.
In just four weeks, my daughter has moved all her grades to A’s. She is 90% on target for her eating and exercise plan. For the first time, her room is perfectly neat before she goes online for school. Honestly, it looks like another kid is living in her room. My wife and I can’t believe the massive improvement she has made merely by making small changes and then measuring them every Monday. Our child is happier and more confident because she is planning and making her goals with small consistent changes.
Anyone can do this. Make next year better by making small changes over time. The challenge is starting the process. If you don’t have a plan, you’re not accountable. You have no sense of urgency to get something done, and it never ends up happening. Just START! Ready, Aim, Fire. Correct, adjust and improve as you go. You can do it!
Here’s to “saying goodbye to 2020” and planning your success in 2021. Happy Holidays to you all!
Ralph