Create a clear vision of what you want.“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” Henry Ford
This is my current favorite quote.
I’ve heard it several times on my personal development journey, and I heard it again in a business conversation the other day.
Doing something just because you’ve always done it doesn’t mean that it can’t, or shouldn’t change.
Maybe there is a new more effective way to do something.
We have access to more resources than we had just a few short years ago.
It’s quite simple to change your life – have a clear vision.
Without a clear vision of what your future life looks like and feels like you can’t put together an action plan for change. How do you know what the change is without a vision?
Would you go on a road trip without a map?
In Life Coaching we learn how critical it is to have a clear vision.
Part of the process for any type of coaching is to begin with creating a vision statement for your personal life, and/or the future of your business.
If you believe in manifestation then you may find the vision creation activity a simple one to do. You already know that you need a clearly defined picture, or map, of the end goal in order to manifest it.
Write your clear vision.
If you have never done this then begin by taking a pen and a piece of paper, no need to be fancy, simple is just fine, type it later and make it pretty.
Write out a clear vision of what you want. You may do several drafts until you get down to what really feels right. Be extremely specific, what do you see, smell, or hear?
I’m about to drop a truth bomb.
While visions, vision boards, manifestations, and the power of the mind are all wonderful, amazing, and important they alone will not get you to where you want to be.
Sitting around concentrating on making more money will certainly not put dollars into your bank account.
Sticking pictures on your vision board will not make them suddenly materialize, you have to have an action plan that moves you toward the vision.
In order to create change in your life, you must make daily changes and take small daily action steps that propel you forward.
I like the saying “you get out what you put in”.
If you aren’t ready to make daily changes and take action on a daily basis then you aren’t really serious about making changes.
This applies to whatever area of life is your focus right now.
If it’s your health and you are not willing to change your eating habits, or if it’s the job you hate but you are not willing to leave it or create your exit strategy, then how serious are you about making lifestyle and nutrition changes?
I know that may sting a little or a lot.
I know that question, and the realization that came from it, stung a lot for me.
But it was a game changer.
I hear talk all the time that someone wants to make more money, find a better balance between work and home life, get more clients, and the list goes on.
These are just wants, aspirations, or sometimes just complaining for the sake of having something to talk about.
How do you turn an aspiration into a daily behavior?
1. Focus on one thing at a time, until it’s DONE.
Set yourself up to succeed, not to fail.
2. Start small.
If you want to write more blogs then start with writing for 10 – 15 minutes per day.
If you want to make more money then set aside 10 – 15 minutes per day to market your business.
If you want to improve your health start by drinking one more glass of water today.
Make the commitment so small that you know you can do it, aim to hit your goal for 2 consecutive weeks no matter what, on weekends, holidays, birthdays, and sick days.
3. Keep a steady routine.
Do the activity at the same time daily.
If you are setting aside time to write then plan it when no one can distract you, at the same time daily.
We all love and need routines.
Get into the routine of writing first thing in the morning. Wake up earlier! Refer back to #2, you only need 15 minutes.
4. Be accountable.
You need to be accountable, get an accountability buddy if you can, and put it out there in some way. If you need a space to do this come join the Savvy Vitality Community.
It’s ok to be accountable to yourself as long as you adopt the mindset that it is still a promise and it cannot be broken.
It is not ok to not meet your goals and then say “see, I can’t do this”, negative self-talk will not get you where you want to be!
5. Have consequences.
State 3 tasks you need to complete over a 2-week period.
Then state what you would give up for 2 weeks if you don’t complete them. Mine is tea. The thought of having to give up my tea is a motivator for me…sad but true.
Consequences work to keep you motivated and take daily action.
6. Announce your commitment (expanding on #4)
To the world or someone you trust and admire. No one wants to look or feel like a failure.
This works for me, then I have no choice but to follow through and get it done. I don’t want to be “that person” who doesn’t do what they said they were going to do.
7. Enjoy the process.
Making changes is scary, but it needs to be fun too.
If you don’t look forward to the daily change you won’t do it. It’s that simple.
Start small and pick something that you look forward to doing every single day, even on weekends.
Enjoy the change process.
If it is work, or a chore to do it you need to tweak the process a little.
Enjoy watching yourself become the person you envisioned, and build the dream you have desired.
“If you can dream it, you can achieve it.” William Arthur Ward