“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carrieswith it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
Napoleon Hill
Sometimes our best laid plans to accomplish our goals seem impossible to achieve. How different have all our personal and business lives become in just the last couple of weeks? For some people, Covid-19 has put a complete stop to their business and personal goals, and they are trying to just get through this difficult time. For others, there has been a varying degree of impact from slight to severe. Regardless of the impact, it might be a good time to take a step back and reassess what you want to accomplish this week, month,quarter or year.
I have found that most people are reluctant to let go of the goals they set for themselves. It is perfectly OK to delete goals that don't serve your needs, are no longer appropriate or just need to be put on the back-burner for now. Perhaps this would be a good time to reevaluate your goals and processes.
Focusing on Napoleon Hill’s quote above, give some thought as to what the silver linings to the new and hopefully temporary way of life might be.
· Many of us are learning to work remotely, so how might that be leveraged to a greater good in the future?
· What flaws in your business processes have been exposed?
· What projects that stay at the bottom of the to do list can you now take on?
· What changes can you make to your schedule to create a more balanced work/life balance?
· In addition, during stressful times it is critical to maintain good health and a positive attitude. Do what works for you, exercise, meditate, reduce your consumption of negative news, etc.
· Become aware and monitor your negative self-talk. Be prepared to substitute a positive affirmation whenever you catch yourself thinking something negative.
· Maintain a deep-down belief that you will get through this and become stronger as a result.
A good place to start to think about the questions above is to actually schedule time in your calendar to think about it. This is time that you are working on your business and not in your business.
Here are some suggestions that can help:
1) Crystal Clear Goals - Perhaps the most important factor in achieving your goals is to develop the skill to write out your goals using very specific, clear and positive statements of what you want in your future. These statements need to be written in such a way that they are measurable and can be monitored and tracked on a concrete basis. You must also possess a deep desire to achieve them and must also have the utmost confidence in yourself that your goals are both possible for you to achieve and that you are worthy to achieve them.
2) Focus-Your life is complex, especially now. It is filled with many tasks and responsibilities. Your ability to separate the urgent tasks from the goal achieving tasks will determine how successful you will be in achieving what you desire. Here’s a “secret” question you can ask yourself each day to help keep you focused on attaining your goals(s); “What is the highest and best use of my time today to move me one step closer to attaining my goal(s) of…”. I believe that now is the time to set many short-term goals that you can track.Completing each one will provide you with positive reinforcement and give you the encouragement to continue.
3) Know the Score-Keep score of your progress towards your goals. Know what’s working and what isn’t. Don’t be afraid to make modifications as often as is necessary during these difficult times.
4) Positive Outlook-We become the sum total of our thoughts and we attract into our lives the manifestations of those thoughts. If you hold a positive outlook about your future and your circumstances, you will attract more positive results than negative ones into your life. I’m not talking about wishing for something good to happen, but rather holding a positive expectation and attitude that by engaging in the correct activities consistently you will bring about the results you desire.
5) Ask for Help-Multiply your chances of success by asking for the help and support of others. Don’t reinvent the wheel; it’s a waste of time. No, really,it is a waste of time. Enlist the strengths of others to add to our own strengths and natural abilities. Surround yourself with people who can support you and your desire to achieve. Get advice from others who have achieved what you desire to achieve. While this Pandemic is unique in the 21st Century, ask the advice of people in business who have weathered other major storms and survived. This can be accomplished by associating in person with those you know or by reading about them in books or listening to them via audio programs.
Conclusion
If your goals are written and clear and you focus each day on moving just one-step closer to their attainment; and know what’s working and what isn’t; and maintain a positive outlook about your life and circumstances;and can ask for the help and support of others; you are guaranteed to both achieve and accelerate the achievement of everything you desire.
Good luck on your journey to success.
