Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

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New Year’s Resolutions You Can Keep

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As we come to the end of the year, everyone is thinking about making New Year’s resolutions. We often make a long list of resolutions, then give up on all of them by the end of January. There are lots of reasons that New Year’s resolutions fail. We take on too many changes at once, we get frustrated when we don’t see immediate results, we choose the wrong resolutions…and on and on.

Do you want to make resolutions you will keep? In this series, I will walk you through a way of making resolutions that will stick. In today’s article we will look at making resolutions. Next you will learn how to keep your resolutions.

Let’s get started!

If you are like most people, your list of New Year’s resolutions may look something like this:

  • Make more money.
  • Lose weight.
  • Spend more time with my kids.
  • Get more things done.
  • Be happier.

One issue with these resolutions is that they are vague. How much more money do you want to make? What does “be happier” mean anyway? But the biggest problem with them is that they are not action oriented. These are things you want, not things you will DO.

Resolutions are about DOING.

What actions will you take that will cause you to make more money? What new habits will you develop to lose weight? What are you going to do in that time with your kids? What activities are you going to delegate or dump to use your time more effectively? How will you change your attitude to become happier?

For each of the original resolutions, determine at least one thing you are going to DO. So now your list might be something like this:

  • Hold one teleseminar every month.
  • Walk at least 10,000 steps a day.
  • Have a family game night every Tuesday.
  • Outsource the maintenance of my website and blog.
  • Maintain a daily gratitude journal.

You may have more than one action for each desired result, but don’t get carried away. You want to be ambitious, but you do not want to overwhelm yourself. Focus on the most important action(s) for each goal. You can always add more later.

Next we will look at how you are going to keep your new resolutions, even if you have never been able to follow through on New Year’s resolutions in the past. 

Planning for Success

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People generally do not say to themselves, ‘At the end of next year, I want to be in exactly the same place I am today.’ Usually they hope that they will be in a better place—that might mean making more money, having more flexibility and freedom, or taking on a new career or business. However, many people find themselves doing the same things year after year because they do not plan to get the things they say that they want. 

To reach your goals, you first need to know what they are. Think about where you want to be five years from now. Do you see yourself retiring, selling your business, starting a new business, adding staff, expanding to new areas, or scaling back to enjoy more time with family? Whatever you imagine, work backwards from that vision to determine what you must do to get there.

Set goals for yourself. ‘I want to make more money,’ is not a goal. Goals should be specific and quantifiable. How much more money do you want? By what date? And what will you do to reach that goal?

Goals should be achievable. If you set impossible standards for yourself, you will become frustrated, not successful.

Goals that require you to stretch a little are good. If you can reach your objectives in your sleep, there is no challenge and hitting your targets is not as satisfying. The best goals require you to step up your performance in some way.

Put your goals into an overall plan. What steps will you have to take in order to reach the goals you have identified? Each step becomes a part of the plan.

Put it in writing. Write down your plan. The steps, the time frame, the resources needed, the outcome expected…all of it gets written down where it can be referenced as it is executed.

Have a partner or a buddy. Share your goals with someone else and encourage them to hold you accountable. Do the same for them. If they know that your plan is to finally write that novel this year, they will expect you to do it. That outside accountability makes it more likely to happen.

Be willing to change. You may find that changes in circumstance cause you to change your goals. That’s fine. Don’t stubbornly cling to goals ‘just because.’ Revise them when new opportunities come up.

Now do it. Take the first step, and then the next. Rejoice in your successes and reward yourself for taking risk and doing the hard work. 

Self Starters

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This week’s Monday Morning Message from Wm. H. Danforth, founder of Ralston Purina:
What is the Monday Morning Message?

Self starters are those that arouse action within themselves

“One must find the divine spark that initiates action,” says Dr. Holmes, a noted psychologist.

How do you think?

1. Ninety-five per cent of people think an aimless, desultory, gossipy flow of ideas.
2. Five per cent initiate, definitely direct, and definitely arrive at conclusions.

Thinking is the process of arriving at conclusions.

Pretty heavy stuff for a Monday morning! Only the 5% class will get it into their heads.

Memorize it.

Very true. I meet so many people who are drifting through their lives. They have no purpose or direction and act as though their lives are out of their control.

Well, their lives are out of their control because they have chosen not to take control. They do not want to make decisions, so they decide to do nothing. They may say they are unhappy with their present circumstances, but they do not want to take action. Instead, they remain mired in their comfortable, unhappy existence.

Are you content to drift aimlessly through your life, taking what is handed to you? Or will you live the life you really want? You have to earn it, you know.

Are you one of the 95% or the 5%? Only you can decide. Start now.

Look High – Go High

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This week’s Monday Morning Message from Wm. H. Danforth, founder of Ralston Purina:
What is the Monday Morning Message?

You start at the bottom;
You imagine yourself the man above you,
And soon you are there!
Then you look higher,
And higher you go.

The Sculptor looks at a block of marble,
He dreams of a beautiful statue.
The gardener looks at a swamp,
He dreams of a flower garden.

What’s ahead of you? Can’t you get a little action from these thoughts?

Instead of looking at where you have been, look to where you want to be.

Imagine yourself in the life you want to live, then aim yourself in that direction.

How Many Hours Do You Work?

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When people ask me how many hours I work in an average week, I have to say that I don’t know. First of all, there is no such thing as an “average” week. Beyond that, I don’t think about how many hours I spend working, because I love what I do. My work and my life are intertwined. 

I decide where my efforts will be directed, with whom I will work, what products and services I will offer, and who my clients will be. I set my own goals and my own schedule.

There is no one looking over my shoulder to tell me what I should be doing. That can be scary for some people, but if you are passionate about what you do it is exhilarating.

That passion not only drives you to reach your goals, it makes it easier to attract customers, too. After all, if you don’t fervently believe that your product or service can make my life better, why should I buy from you?

People often tell me that they are amazed by all the things I get done. I am proud of my accomplishments, but I also look around and see all of the things that I want to do, and feel driven to do more.

When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. That makes it easier to put in a lot of hours when you need to. The great thing about working for myself, though, is that I can take time off when I want to.

This coming week includes the Thanksgiving holiday here in the U.S., so I am going to reward myself by taking a little time off, hanging out with my husband, and goofing off a bit. I suggest that you find a way to unwind and recharge, too.

If you are not currently following your passion, this week would be a good time to start making plans to change careers, start a business or move your business in a new direction. Do it!