One key thing you have to do to succeed in the new year

16 Jan One key thing you have to do to succeed in the new year

“It is not enough to have a dream, you must wake up and work on your dream. It is not enough to be talented, you must work smart to confirm your talent when and where it truly matters.”

A few weeks ago in anticipation of the new year, I wrote on the power of goal setting and I want to elaborate further on an important mindset necessary for unparalleled success.

Goals Set

To start, I am going to assume you’ve spent time reflecting on your new year and have defined your goals, updated your vision board and clearly painted a picture of what you expect to achieve in the new year.

In essence, here are a few things you’ve done —

You have settled on your theme

You have written down your goals (yep, written down and preferably on a notepad)

You have visualized the associated specific experiences

You have explored and crafted a growth-minded strategic plan that adheres to the ‘SMART’ principle. In order words, your plan is ‘specific’ (clear and easy to understand), ‘measurable’ (defined milestones and targets), ‘actionable’ (can be acted upon daily, weekly etc), realistic (tangible) and time-based.

And lastly, you have identified and contacted the mentors or coaches you believe will help you move forward.

Good job!

So what’s next?

Remember this, ‘being’ is greater than ‘doing’

I did emphasize the need to place more emphasis on “being” over “doing”.

It is a safe and expedient bet that in today’s evolving world with rapid technological advancement, AI and bots that those that will last are those who focus and operate from their core. In order words, impact, essence, business goals, key objectives, business initiatives, activities are conducted with a sense of purpose.

Cal Newport in his book, deep work, posited that “ Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a superpower in our increasingly competitive twenty-first-century economy.”

Let’s make 2019 a great year of deep work but to do that, we must do one thing.

Understand the Shiny Object Syndrome

The phenomenon, ‘Shiny Object Syndrome’ is so prevalent in our culture and is one that prevents us from doing amazing work. This syndrome drains our energy, diffuses our attention and distracts us from our goals. Shiny Object Syndrome occurs when our imagination and attention is drawn towards a new idea, concept or possibility which invariably could lead to discarding or abandoning established goals and plans prematurely or permanently. While SOS is notably common in entrepreneurs, it has become more mainstream within the past decade with the constant cycle of fads, new tools, gadgets, games, and system releases. It is extremely common to hear consumers complaining about their recently purchased tools simply because of a new release within a span of a few months.

It is the antithesis to deep work, focus, and commitment and sadly, we’ve been conditioned to chase the “shiny object”.

So, here’s the one key thing

As with all things, the ‘shine’ of the new year will wave in a few days or weeks and the old habits, mindsets, and tendencies will resurface and chip at your heels.

Here’s one thing you have to do to make your goals a reality be steadfast and committed, “Resist shiny objects”. The societal and cultural implications will be enormous, the business and organizational impacts across the industries immense and with those will come drops in commitment levels, lagging attention spans and increased desire to quit.

But, you must remember to resist the urge to chase a new shiny object.

Develop and nurture the attitude of sticking to things for the long haul.

Embrace the challenge of staying the course. 

Assuredly, if you stay true to your course, you will reach your destination.

Be sticky, so stick to it.

Wishing you unparalleled success today and always,
Dr. Flo