What Will You Do Today to Make Progress?

Are you a go-getter who’s always on top of things, or someone who struggles to get started sometimes?  Either way, you’re not alone. A recent survey found that most Americans feel overwhelmed and underutilized.  Moreover, many adults struggle with balancing personal and professional responsibilities, which can give a feeling of despair, failure, and especially fatigue.  This scenario is exactly why New Year’s resolutions are so popular. These goals help us set specific targets with launch timelines that give us the feeling of commencement.  What happens the rest of the year?  Many people “just get through it” until it’s time for a new commencement.  Why?  It’s simple in theory but difficult to execute on for an equally simple reason.  Starting isn’t hard, but starting the same thing every day over and over is!

Whether sales, nurturing personal relationships, savings, or so many other of life’s important rituals the need for consistency is paramount.  On the podcast we hear from tons of high performing individuals from a diverse backgrounds and professions.  One thing that these guests all have in common, their hyper focused on executing the what they consider the fundamentals of their profession.  This week I am going to focus all of the classes and content we put out on helping you learn from what they do!  Below are a list of some of the keys to how they execute on a high level in a consistent way.  This is the habits and insight that helps them be consistent in how they make themselves “Act” every day.

Have a Morning Ritual

Successful people have routines and rituals to help them focus and stay productive. They know that consistency is key to building momentum, so you can make the most of every day. Here are some of the things they do to help keep them on the top of their game:  Exercise: Studies show that people who exercise regularly in the morning report higher levels of happiness and satisfaction throughout the day. If you exercise in the morning, it can help you have more energy throughout the day.  Plus, exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, improve self-confidence, and drive a more positive attitude. – Create: Whether you write, draw, or paint, making and creating can be a powerful way to tap into your creativity and express yourself. Doing so in the morning can help you get into a creative mindset and feel more relaxed and focused. – Eat Well: What you eat and drink can affect your energy and mood, so eating a healthy breakfast can help you stay focused and productive especially when it comes to snacks in between meals.  Make Calls: Yes, of course, this can help you make progress on your professional goals but it’s equally if not more important to reach out and connect with personally as well.  The best time to do this is in the morning, as everyone else is starting their day too.  Meditate or Pray: Having a set time for this will ensure you feel more purposeful and centered around giving.  This will also grow your gratitude which in turn creates a more positive interactions with others. Write: Journaling can be a great way to express your thoughts and feelings. It can also help you realize your goals and dreams. When you write down your goals it helps commit what you’re writing into your non-conscious mind quicker than just thinking about it.  Studies have shown that people who write down their goals daily are 45X more likely to achieve those goals than people who do not write them down. Having a simple morning ritual will also help you get out of bed quicker which is the exact type of action that once taken every day leads to huge improvements in your life.

Ask people you trust for Feedback and how to Improve

If you want to make progress, you need to have an objective overview which is hard to do unless you solicit feedback from others.  However, who you solicit the feedback is just as important as getting the feedback.  Ask co-workers, colleagues, and mentors for honest feedback about your strengths and weaknesses. Review with them what they think of your goals.   Talk to them on a regular basis about your progress, wins, losses, and struggles.  Doing so can help you get valuable insight into things that you may not have otherwise identified.  They can help you see areas where you can improve and make changes. People that know what you’re good at and where you can improve will make a huge impact with their insight if you an compartmentalize it and learn forward. Not all advise and insight is going to be a fit or is even correct and that is why you need to get this from people you trust. People that you can share insight with so that you are not getting input from an echo chamber.  A great way to make sure you are doing this is by implementing this 3-step process to getting feedback: – Ask: Make sure to ask people you trust to give you an honest, constructive opinion. Be specific about what you want feedback on and when you want it by. – Listen: Make sure to listen and not interrupt or defend yourself. When people give you feedback, they are giving you the chance to improve. Leverage that! -Lastly, Reflect: After you get feedback, think about how you can apply it moving forward for at least 24 hours before you respond to their input or before you put what they suggested into action.  Do not procrastinate but do properly evaluate and then put it into action asap!

Set Actions Based on what you are good at doing

If you want to make more progress, you need to do what you’re good at. Think about what you’re good at right now, and why!  Most likely it’s because you enjoy doing it.  You are comfortable with it and you know how to do it.  Let’s take a quick look at how to identify your strengths: Think about what you’re good at now. Have you always been good at it?  When did you get good at it? How did you get good at it?  Was it hard to learn how to get good at it?  Are you naturally inclined to do? -Now, look to your past: What did you excel at when you were younger? What did you like to do that you do not do any more?  Could it help you win bigger now?  Next, seek out opportunities for growth: There are many ways to develop your strengths, like taking online courses, reading books, or volunteering. – Do more of what you love in the way you like to do it.  Example, if you like to learn more about marketing learn about them from listening to audio books if that is what you enjoy.  Don’t go to marketing seminars if you think seminars are a waste of time: Make sure to choose tasks that match your strengths, talents, and natural gifts.  You will be amazed how easy it becomes to act on something if you spend part of your day achieving at a high level doing something that you are excellent at and love to do.

Summary

If you want to make more progress, you need to start taking action. Having a morning ritual, ask for feedback, and set actions based on what you are good at can help you make more of an impact every day. Focus on acting more than perfecting.  It’s better to do and fail then to think about it and remain immobile.  If you act and fail you learn twice and if you just think about acting you only learn how not to act!