A new year is upon us so it’s the perfect time to clear the decks and start to make plans for progressing your business. The “new year, new me” mindset will only get you so far though. You have to set some goals and have some plans, but then you actually have to go out and make them happen too.
It is in no way easy to make radical life (or career) changes, but it certainly can be done. So here are seven resolutions you can make for yourself right now to help you completely dominate the year ahead.
1. Define what you really want
Have you ever sat down and asked yourself what you really want?! Forget the self-deprecating or society-friendly answers here. Stop being embarrassed, and don’t ever think “Well that’s never going to happen so what’s the point?” The first step in getting what you want is asking for it. You have to at least being brave enough to vocalise it.
It’s not uncommon to feel lost when it comes to career happiness. From an early age the education system force-feeds us the idea of what our lives should look like: Do well in school, go to uni, get a job, work your way up, get married, have a family… but what if you don’t want all that? What if you allowed yourself to consider what you really want. What if there was nothing holding you back? Then what would you do?
Look, if I’d told people that my teenage dream for my life was to marry Ronan Keating and be on the cover of a magazine, people would have laughed – or worse. I may not have married Ronan (its OK, I met someone way better!) but now, not only am I only the cover of a magazine, it’s MY magazine!!
Before you can make any plans or changes for 2015, you have to get crystal clear about what you really want out of your life and business. Stop being shy about it, it’s time to get honest, even if it’s just to yourself.
2. Set tangible goals
Let’s not sugar coat it, running your own business is bloody hard. It’s going to take a lot of work to get to where you want to be. So after defining what it is you really want, you next have to make a solid commitment to making it work. I’m not talking about some airy, fairy, “Yeah I’m gonna eat better this year” resolution, you need tangible – and most importantly – measurable goals to help you get there.
For example, instead of saying “This year I want to be more profitable”, set the goal of exactly how much money you want to make. That way, it’s much easier to a) know when you’re on, or off, track b) plot your trojectory to get there and c) find your way back to your pre-tedermind path if you happen to get off course.
3. Stop comparing yourself to others
Oh this is a big one because I KNOW every single one of you struggles with it. The reason I know that for sure is because I do too. Constantly.
But guess what? Comparing yourself to others is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. It’s futile, but worst still, it’s a guaranteed route to self-loathing. Make a promise to yourself to focus on your own stuff. Stop looking sideways at what your competitors are doing. And remember, someone else’s success does not constitute your failure.
Continue reading
