The world is full of mediocre people. That’s the truth.
Everyone starts with big goals. They make plans. And they work those plans with the best intentions. But in the end, only about 1% of the population really makes it big, is truly ‘special’: the ones who becomes CEOs at 35, billionaires in their 20s, or change makers who alter the world we live in with their accomplishments.
The rest of us – despite our best efforts – somehow find ourselves in the middle of the bell curve. We keep telling ourselves we won’t be mediocre. But we end up there. That’s just how life is.
Here’s the deal – there is no harm in getting mediocre results provided your goals are ambitious and your efforts are sincere. The problem, in my book, is when your goals are mediocre.
That rushes you to an early grave.
2016 is not far away. It’s a good time to revisit your goals. Are they challenging enough? Or are they too comfortable, lulling you into a comfort zone?
Here are some #Lifehacks that can make 2016 #thebestyearever for you.
1. Choose what you love most: Career, relationships, personal development, finances, fitness, or wellness? They are all important but choose the 3 things that will take 80% of your time. Where do you currently stand on these 3 things?
2. Quantify them: Create goals for those 3 things. Ensure goals are SMART which means they are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely. ‘I want to learn to play an instrument’ is not a SMART goal. ‘I will play Hotel California on my guitar for my wife on our wedding anniversary on Nov 12, 2016’ is a SMART goal.
3. Work the plan: Make a plan and do a little every day. Do not over-attempt things in the first few weeks. It’s not sustainable. Doing a little every day, however small, is still progress.
4. Review progress: Take time out every month to assess how the needle has moved.
5. Ask for help: No one achieves their goals alone. What resources do you need? If your goal is to become a better people developer, try and enrol for soft skills courses.
6. Hire a goal keeper: Enrol a person in your family who will help you achieve your goals. This support person can be your spouse, friend or colleague. Most NY resolutions don’t last, as most of us lose interest. The support person makes us accountable for our own goals.
7. Make an anti-talent list: I believe for every talent inside us, we have an anti-talent that is constantly sabotaging the talent. Creativity is a talent. Its biggest anti-talent is self-doubt. Write down your anti-talents. Then ask yourself if they are real or imagined?
8. Follow your bliss: Everyone does some things right all the time. It can writing, exercise, cooking, etc. List down the things you are good at, that you do well and that bring joy to self and others. Do more of that. Are you a good painter? Then make time to paint every week.
Don’t forget to celebrate every milestone along the way. No achievement is small.
If, by end of the year, you have achieved 70% of your goals, consider it a great personal success.
As for the 1%? Forget competing with them. You’d be disrespecting your unique potential. You are simply in competition with who you were last year. No one else.
About the Author:
Sandhya Reddy is a leadership & transformation coach based in Bangalore, India. She is the Founder and Principal Coach at Chapter Two Coaching, a coaching consultancy that enables everyone from CEOs to work-from-home parents to achieve their goals by replacing self-imposed limitations with enabling stories.
Many of us in our thirties experience a disquieting realization: what brought us to middle-management may not take us to senior-management. This is true. To chart a new career path, one needs to think and do things differently. This is where Sandhya can help. She is a coach. Life coaching, executive coaching, business coaching, personality development, leadership coaching… they are all part of her forte. Her Executive coaching programs helps tomorrow’s leaders set new goals, make new plans to achieve those goals, get that elusive promotion through a blend of knowledge, action and image-building, enhance influence among the leadership team, be more productive, get more out of one’s team, and be known in the company as an indispensable performer and future leader.
Follow Sandhya Reddy on Twitter @sandhyareddy