success

Leave Your Comfort Zone

Setting goals usually mean being placed outside of your comfort zone. This can scare the you-know-what out of the best of people. The truth is, people don’t like change. But change is the one true thing that people can depend on.

Setting goals are about making changes. It’s often about doing things you have never tried before. This puts people into the neighborhood of the unknown. But that which scares us can also be what gets us to take action. That’s where the power of getting outside of your comfort zone comes into play.

It’s important to know your capabilities and be aware of any weaknesses. For instance, if you have never tried competitive diving before, it would not be wise to dive off platforms right off the bat. Start small, and work up as you become more proficient in the smaller diving boards.

But you shouldn’t shy away from diving if it’s something you have always wanted to try. Find a qualified trainer and give it a shot. You won’t know if it’s right for you unless you make the effort.

Create A Vision Of Who You Want To Be

If you are unhappy where you are in your life at present, it could be because you are not creating the right vision about yourself. Think back to recent thoughts you had. Were they negative thoughts or feelings like you’ve hit a roadblock?

Shift your focus to the kind of life that you want or the ideal person that you want to become. If you want to have a life similar to an idol of yours, read about how that idol has become a success and use that as a guideline to help you accomplish something similar.

When you create a positive image within your mind, it will set up neural pathways to help you reach your goals. The more you reinforce this mental image the more pathways will be created. If there is information available online that can help you with your vision, use it to your advantage. This may sound a little ethereal and weird but it works, so don’t question it, just go with it and if it doesn’t quite work as intended you have lost nothing; BUT if it does work, the gains can be life-changing.

When you have determined your vision and the steps you believe will help you get there, continue to imagine that vision. Do this type of visualisation on a daily basis. Your brain will get so used to this vision it will become a subconscious process.

This is not to say you can’t alter your plan or your vision. There may be something you thought you wanted, but as you progress, you find that this is no longer true and that’s fine. If this happens, create another vision and move on from there. Your brain will form new pathways for this new vision.

If your vision is fine but the plan is not getting you where you need to be, don’t be afraid to make changes with it. Plans are guidelines only. They can be changed as needed. This can happen when new information comes to light along the way, information which wasn’t available when you first got started.

Be prepared for criticism while creating this new vision for yourself. It is yours and yours alone. People may not understand what you are trying to shoot for. Hold to your beliefs and prove them wrong. Your critics are not the ones who have to live with the vision you make for yourself. You will find when you reach your goals those same critics will suddenly be on your side. They will even claim to have been there for you all along. It’s annoying, but that is how people behave. It’s not worth the aggravation. Just move on with your vision and let them think whatever they want.

Surround Yourself With Positive People

Be careful about the people you hang out with; whenever possible try to surround yourself with people who are positive in life.

It is easy to be focused on your own hopes and dreams but it takes just a few seconds to lose all that focus if you are surrounded with fake and unmotivated people who take great pleasure in bringing you down a peg or don’t really want you to succeed because of jealousy.

Connect with those who help you in all your good and bad times and who aim to inspire and encourage you. They can come in many guises and may be coaches, mentors, consultants etc. or just a great friend who sees the potential in you.

I realise that this can be really difficult if the negative people surrounding you are close friends or family but it is vital to your success and emotional wellbeing to do your best. You may not be able to choose your family but you can choose who to befriend and spend your time with and if they are constantly moaning and dragging you down, you will be much better off by severing the ties and going your separate ways; easier said than done though! But I believe that the short term pain of loss will ultimately move you forward to a much better (and happier) place.

Get Used To Setting Goals

Goal setting is an important aspect of any business, in fact any facet of life, because if you ever want to achieve anything, you need to have a target to aim for to judge your progress.

And whatever happens in your life, don’t let it distract you from your goal. It may take longer than originally intended but you WILL reach your goal in the end. Keep reminding yourself why you want to reach your goal and believe that you can achieve it!!

Have I missed the opportunity?

It is never too late to start aiming for a goal in life or business although we may have to overcome years of dogma to unshackle that belief.

There are many instances of people who didn’t achieve their goals till later in life (Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in his 60s, Colonel Sanders discovered KFC at 65, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury tales aged 54-61).

So the point is, stick with it. There are so many people who start out with high aspirations and if they come a little off track they give up. This is one of the major differences between successful people and the rest – they do not give up and always maintain self belief. Try to take a small step each day to work towards your goal and you will get there.

Just remember that success comes one step at a time and the trick is to identify those steps and tackle them in a sensible and effective way. Goal setting also lets you break down seemingly impossible tasks into reasonable chunks which means you are also much more likely to take action.

Overcoming obstacles

First of all write down any potential obstacles that you can think of. Some people are a bit afraid of doing this but they cannot be ignored and if you write them down in a particular way they may become less intimidating and perhaps even inspiring.

So, at the top of a piece of paper write down your goal, then below that write down the obstacles. Then write down possible solutions next to the obstacles.

This can be quite empowering by revealing that although these obstacles may be very real, there are a number of solutions to overcoming them. And some of these solutions may be able to be put into practice immediately. This can really give you clarity and a sense of progression as you break down the obstacles and cross them off your list. But you must make a conscious decision to do this, so do not put this off and remember:

The time for action is now…

How “why” Can Grow Your Business

Why. This is such a small word but it can have amazing power when setting goals and objectives to move your business forward. Children ask it all the time throughout their development but as adults we seem to be rather more apprehensive. Perhaps it is admitting our own ignorance that holds us back, but your business will thank you for asking it. You should be continuously asking “why?” during all stages of your business development and keep asking it until you are able to visualise the simplest solution to the question.

Just take a look at this to see what I mean:

Your main problem is that your business isn’t making you enough money. Why?

Maybe you’re not selling enough products or services. Why?

Maybe you haven’t got enough customers. Why?

Because you are not capturing their names on an email list. And here is your solution – try to capture the email address of as many visitors to your site as possible to build your list of prospective customers.

Once you have narrowed down your potential solutions it will be much quicker and easier to implement them and see your business grow. Don’t try to guess – just ask yourself – “why?”

This may seem simple and it is, but don’t underestimate its power. It just forces you to treat each problem in a logical way until you find the best solution.

Try it for yourself and see what happens and if it can help you remove any constraints on your own business.

This can also work in your everyday life too. So I urge you to unleash your inner child and start asking “why?” And see your business grow as a result…