Consistency – the next step

Today I want to write about something that is very important, but has been a stumbling block for me over the past few months – consistency!

When we plan and start working towards achieving some goals, in addition to  prioritising, we need to learn to be consistent.

We will never find all doors open to us or things coming our way easily.  We need to work on them and learn to persist, even when we do not obtain the results we expect.

I know we sometimes get discouraged or so busily caught up in our routine that  we tend to put aside what we were once so eager to achieve.

I am going to give you an example of my own.  I set the goal of writing one blog post a week which means at least four new messages every month.

It seemed so reasonable and, to a certain extent,  a very achievable target.  I thought so too, but in practice it hasn’t worked out as I planned.

I knew I would have a series of trips, meetings, events and other responsibilities that would not make it easy to reach my goal, but what I could not foresee was  that they would affect my consistency.

You may have noticed that I only managed to write two articles a month!

Honestly,  I feel like giving up the idea, but I know that if I do not train myself to insist on the right course of action, I will not reach my goal.

So, the word of the moment for you and me is consistency.  Train yourself to do what is necessary in order to achieve your goal. Do it repeatedly until it becomes second nature.

Even if I fail again in posting one article a week, although I will strive not to, I will be consistent in doing what I have planned.

Share with me in which areas you too lack consistency!

First things first – Prioritise

We are still exploring our ability to set goals and plans for a new year and hopefully we have beaten that old enemy known as anxiety.

But there is one element which needs to be considered to ensure our plans will be effective and our goals achieved.  We need to identify what is really important and how quickly we need to accomplish it.

Priorities are set based on importance and time. You might have something that does not look so important, but when you have a certain deadline for it, time becomes the reason to make it a priority.

On the other hand, you might have a plan that is very important, but you are not committed to doing it within any time frame.

How do you balance such priorities – time and importance? The answer is yours alone.  Remember these are your plans, your goals and your life.

Jot down your goals and then next to each one, try to list reasons why it would be rewarding for you to achieve such a goal. Add a number of reasons to each goal.

Review your list and then consider some goals which are not so appealing, but which you are aware have deadlines.  If you miss one of these deadlines you might be putting projects at risk or creating a situation which could get you into trouble with the law.

To illustrate this, we know that for most people, submitting their income tax return is not a priority which feels very rewarding.  But, if you don’t do it, you’ll find yourself on the wrong side of the law, owing money to the government and  setting in motion a chain reaction which can eventually compromise your financial standing and credit rating.

Go back to reviewing your list.  Twenty items cannot be considered as priorities,  so cut the list down to a maximum of eight priorities, to be accomplished over three to five months.

As you achieve or complete some of the items, you can certainly add more to your list, but never compromise quality and efficiency for speedy completion.

This tip works for every “To Do List” you will create.  Learn to prioritise and you will find that besides being efficient, it saves time.

Your enemy – anxiety

 When we are listing our goals for the New Year or embracing a new season in our life, it seems that we forget our human limitations and everything we haven’t done in years past now become our priorities.

We list many goals and long term ones are classified as immediate.

Of course, by the end of a time period, we realise we haven’t achieved much. We planned on 20 and have only accomplished two. Anxiety sinks in, followed by frustration.

Instead of honestly considering the much we planned for, we look down on ourselves as if we are the barriers to those achievements.

We push harder then and we are anxious about any outcome, even if it’s not within the standards required – so that we will have some small reason to feel better.

Anxiety is your and my biggest enemy.

We should toss it aside when planning!  You will not be able to accomplish 20 tasks in one year, especially if they have been pending for a long time.

If you have just made advances towards a goal, be it a personal change or a career achievement, don’t allow anxiety to lead you to precipitous or bad decisions.  It does not matter how long your journey takes, what matters is that you will get to the point you need to.  Persevere and be consistent.  Prioritise quality.

Confront reality with dignity.  You have not achieved what you planned, but  there is no reason to be anxious to set another goal. Give yourself time to work on what you have listed as priorities.  Do not disregard your needs and intentions,  work on this goal that has not been achieved so far.

The most important lesson I have learnt is:  learn to celebrate the little you have accomplished and do not allow the much that is missing to put you down.

Live every day with intensity, not because you want to reach tomorrow, but mostly because you are making the most of every minute of this day.

Who knows if your greatest priority isn’t to learn to deal with anxiety?

Reality Check

I would like to highlight something very typical in the nature of women.  We want to embrace the world with our tiny arms and when we don’t manage to do it, we become frustrated.

I do hope you have made your list, otherwise you will not be able to identify the points you need to change.  I am afraid, however, that you have not been realistic about some of those points.

Once we start our journey towards making changes, we want them to happen all at once and quickly ...  very quickly.  In the real world, things do not happen that way.

So, your first change is this.  Do not fear to be realistic and embrace one change at a time. Learn to celebrate small achievements rather than feel frustrated by all that you haven’t accomplished.

When planning something, go to the mirror and see yourself as a human being, with superwoman nowhere nearby to help you to do 20 things at the same time.

Figuring out who you are is part of the task of acknowledging that you have limitations.  Despite them, you want to advance. Pretending they do not exist  will not help you to go far.

Learn how to deal with limitations such as procrastination, a busy schedule, children, going through a divorce, health issues, financial strains, among others.  Although these issues tend to hold you up in life, when you plan and consider them carefully, you will find a way to advance, despite such challenges.

The pending topic for this week is – Who you want to be in 2015 (and, may I add) in spite of your limitations?

Get your list and look for the most important change or achievement you have jotted down. Now think carefully what you need to do to achieve that priority:

• ·      Is it something that depends only on you?
• ·      Is it something that involves teamwork?
• ·      Is it something you can afford to or do you need to plan financially for it?
• ·      Is it something you can accommodate into your routine or do you need to find time to do it?
• ·      Is it a short-term goal or a long-term goal?
• ·      What can you do today to advance your goal?

Out of your many goals, select the second and third in order of importance and ask yourself the same questions.  Once you have the answers, you are ready to work on these changes.

A little piece of advice – whatever you highlighted that you can do today towards your goal, don’t leave it for tomorrow. Be proactive and seek ways to anticipate the stages of the process.  You will be surprised how much sooner you will get to where you want to be.

In the next blog I will help you to face one of your enemies – anxiety.