Make no mistake, a desire for change is the first step. Without a commitment to behavioral change, we will continue to get the results we have always gotten.
Once a commitment is made, the most successful transformations involve deeper cultural changes more so than processes or behaviors. Instead of focusing on Things-You-Do, make changes to Who-You-Are.
Too many times, we get engaged and expend our limited resources focusing on things that don’t matter. Be sure that you are focusing on things that do!
Things go differently when instead of answering, “Yes, but [some excuse]”, you respond “Yes, and [here’s what I need to do it]“. While this is only a slight difference, it highlights the challenges by focusing on What (instead of Why Not).
It enables instead of sounds like a prepared excuse.
While “Whale-hunting” for viral attention-getting campaigns can offer large-scale rewards, building your following and nurturing your own audience through consistent engagement is still the most consistent path to growth. For every “Crazy-Girlfriend” meme that goes viral or every moment where a Hollywood star is seen wearing your t-shirt, there are many more opportunities where you can build authentic, engaged relationships with your target audience that grows into recurring interactions.
Most of us get caught up in “more” as opposed to “enough”. In our drive to be or get the “best”, we overlook and miss out on the enjoyment of the “good”. If you find yourself continually working toward the next goal, take a moment to be thankful and acknowledge what you have Now!
Our companies need to be planning and executing a marketing budget for employees in the same ways that they now market for customers. In the same way that you find an audience, nurture them in a relationship, and attempt to sell them your service or product, we need to communicate our vision and message in places where our best potential employees hang out and attracting them to us.
Being comfortable financially, physically, spiritually, in your relationships, etc is cause for caution. Comfort can lead to our biggest problems because it presents us with few reasons to change.
We are better off focusing on small incremental changes that lead us to our goals than making lists of actions that we inevitably perceive as drudgery & punishment! Change is hard enough without our focus on the End State that does not celebrate the Journey.
If you are tired of the yo-yo cycles that often come from goal setting / lifestyle design, I suggest redirecting your effort toward incremental change is an alternative. While having a long-term direction guides day-to-day activities, focusing on smaller advances toward the objective often delivers quicker and more visible results.
There is nothing wrong with reminiscing, but we have to make sure that we stay focused on what we are doing now and what we are now. Living in the past, whether remembering the good times or trying to forget the bad times can cloud our focus on those things we control – Now!
