Press PLAY button on your life

In the New Year it’s so tempting to make ambitious resolutions.

We promise ourselves that we will take care of our mental and physical health from now on. And we will lose some weight. And we'll do more fitness.

My clients promise themselves that they will have more time for family diners and for playing with kids or spending more quality time with their partners/spouses.

Everyone is making a New Year’s resolution counting on this magic of a new chapter and shyly believing that it’s like some door that you go through making a wish and on the other side the wish comes true.

On the other hand, as it repeats every year, you know that it’s not so easy but you still do it.

As everyone is doing it. Starting a gym membership, buying a dietitian services, making some appointments at the doctors.

And it works. For some only a while, for some a bit longer. Mid February, they say it lasts on average.

The motivation really kicks in with the New Year. But what happens next?

Motivation fades, you no longer remember why you wanted to do it in the first place and you get back to your previous patterns and behaviors.

Is it good? Is it bad? Is it both?

Neither. Unless you do something about it. Let me explain.

The change itself is a good thing and as every New Year shows, we need the change, we want the change and we invite the change. So we make resolutions.

But it’s said that only 20% of New Year’s resolutions succeed. Then what do you do when you fail?

You feel bad, you try to forget you’ve set a goal in the first place and worst of all, you compare yourself to others who seem not to have any troubles with regular training, keeping a diet or healthy life.

But what you should focus on is learning from your challenges. You made a resolution and you didn’t keep it. It’s okay. Just take a closer look at what you wanted to achieve, why you wanted to achieve it and how you wanted to achieve it. Then ask yourself:

what went well?

and what failed?

And what can I do better next time?

And make sure there will be next time!

And make sure you won’t wait till next New Year to make a resolution again 😀

So.

Plan.

Do.

Check.

Adjust.

That's a simple method for ensuring you make progress and all the hiccups you treat as learning opportunities and not failures.

Step #1

Consider what you really need. Think about WHY you need it. Write your WHY. And then, come up with another four of them.

People using this method like putting this list of 5 whys in a visible place. Like in the office. Where they always see it.

Step #2

So when you have an aim. Prepare a goal.

Think of all the details like what needs to happen, what you need to do/learn, what you need to stop/start doing in order to achieve the ultimate goal. And what will you actually achieve?

Yes, conclude on the ultimate goal. What will it be then?

Imagine you’ll have achieved the goal. Write every detail of this victory to ensure you know exactly how your success is going to look like. What will it look like? Who will be there? When will it happen? What will it look like? Where will it happen? Any details you can imagine.

Step #3

PLAN your journey from today to the moment you'll have achieved the goal.

Knowing what needs to happen, plan each step of the journey predicting as many steps as you can right now. Already now, ensure you know what it takes to make those steps and plan the stages, milestones and mid-goals. Plan each of the steps in detail. Ask yourself questions

- What has to happen? How will I do that? Who needs to do that? Where will it take place? When will it happen? What do I miss? Where will I take it from? and so on…..

Make it a road map. Visualize it. With a mind map, timeline, pictures, graph. Whatever works for you. And don’t remember to keep it next to your WHY list.

Step #4

So you have a PLAN.

Now you need to act. So implement. DO. Each step. And even more if anything pops up by surprise. Take each step at your pace. Be patient and kind but strongly proceed with your plan.

Step #5

And with every milestone. Depending on how complex and timelong your plan is. CHECK. Compare your plan to what actually happened.

Use your questions from the plan phase and the same about implementation.

- What has happened? How did I do that? Who did that? Where did it take place? When did it happen? What did I miss? Where did I take it from? and so on…..

Step #6

Now it ‘s getting interesting.

Note down the discrepancies - what was different in the implementation compared to the original plan. What was the result? Should I fix anything? How can I fix it? Was it better than planned? How can I implement it in the next steps? ADJUST. Adjust your plan.

And the fun part.

You have your WHYs so you still know that you need it and it is still important for you to achieve your goal.

You are on your journey and even if something didn’t go as planned, you are still traveling towards your goal. So anything that happens on this journey is not a failure and the travel continues.

Step #7

Don't stop

With the ADJUST approach you actually take a look at the facts and observations and conclude from them without the guilt and feeling of failure. And DO. You do it again or take next steps with an adjusted approach to ensure your goal is reached at the end of this road.

Guilt and feeling of failure is the biggest demotivator. So if you approach your experience with curiosity and wanting to learn from it, you have even more odds with yourself. And you will most probably succeed.

And that’s what I wish for you for 2024.

Plan. Do. Check. Adjust. Your learning journey.