Imagine an old table. The current finish covers three other layers of paint hiding the beautiful red oak grain. Your goal: to restore the natural wood with a hand rubbed finish.
The paint surrenders to the abrasive aluminum oxide 60-grit sandpaper. With time, the wood grain is revealed confirming the value of your second-hand store snag.
The oak wood has smaller imperfections requiring additional preparation. You grab a sheet of 120-grit sandpaper. Energized by the progress the surface is ready for the stain, sealer, and finish coat.
The vision breaks into the reality of a dusty workplace.
Speaking of goal achievement
We are in season of new beginnings and fresh starts. It’s time to re-visit the dream or dream again. As you engage the moment, may I encourage you to create space for reflection on Chapter 2013 first? Remember that
The Best Predictor of Future Success
is the ability and willingness to learn and change,
achieved through consistent reflection
on truth found in the Story.
Come on, let’s celebrate!
Unleashing a heart of gratitude it’s time to rehearse and celebrate your 2013 achievements. How easy it is to magnify the misses and those times we fell short. What happens if we do? We lose the encouragement and energy that comes from making progress.
When will you create space to celebrate your victories?
What to do to get there
As you dream about Chapter 2014 in your story, here’s some help regarding how to reach your goals. In her book 9 Things Successful People Do Differently, Heidi Grant Halvorson offers strategies that support high performance. Here are the 9 things:
- Get specific – What does success look like for you?
- Seize the moment to act – pre-determine what you will do, when, and where you will take action
- Know exactly how far you have left to go – monitor your progress
- Be a realistic optimist – see the obstacles and prepare how you will overcome them
- Focus on getting better, rather than being good – goals are seen as opportunities to improve, rather than prove yourself
- Have grit – persistence over the long haul
- Build your willpower muscle – self-control needs to be exercised in order to strengthen it
- Don’t tempt fate – no one has willpower all the time, don’t push your luck
- Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do – instead of focusing on bad habits, its more effective to replace them with better ones
Remember, goal accomplishment is about what you do, not who you are.
What about grit?
Heidi Halvorson created the Nine Things Diagnostics – a free, online set of questionnaires designed to measure how you use the nine things in pursuit of personal and professional goals. Reviewing some 7,000 responses she discovered the most impactful strategy: have grit. That’s right, persistence is at the top of the list.
Think of a time when you did not achieve a realistic goal.
How much consideration did you give to the possibility: “I just didn’t hang in there long enough?” People often believe it is their lack of ability that limits success, more often than not, it is too little grit to get the job done.
Here’s the nitty-gritty. The four most impactful strategies are…
- Have grit
- Know exactly how far you have left to go
- Get specific on what success looks like
- Seize the moment to act on your goals
Back to our painted oak table … success was the result of persistence, monitoring of progress, knowing what success looks like, and setting aside time to work on the project. And the reward? A beautiful oak piece of furniture and satisfaction of a job well done.
Now, just so you don’t forget …
- What are your top five achievements during Chapter 2013?
- How will you celebrate?
- Who will be there? When? Where?
Here’s to your dream and grit,
Steve
Photo credit:woodleywonderworks via Compfight
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