Do you ever feel like time flies? Can you believe the year is half over? Did you make New Year’s resolutions or annual goals? Are you on target or feeling a bit sheepish?
If you’re on target, then take a bow, pat yourself on the back and keep doing what you’re doing.
If things aren’t humming along as planned, this is your wake-up call. Don’t be alarmed (get it…wake-up call/alarmed) here are a few questions to help you pinpoint what you need to do to get back on track.
Do you have clear intentions? In other words, do you have clarity in what you want to have, be or do by the end of the year? If you know exactly what you want to accomplish, you can move to the next question. If not, take some time to determine what you want. From studying human psychology, we actually know that you will be inspired more by goals that are bold and challenging. So if your goal makes you yawn, your work isn’t done yet.
Do you have a plan of action that will get you where you want to go? If you do, great. If not, you probably are victim to one of three things – the plan is not well thought-out, you need different strategies or you’re execution is being held hostage by procrastination, distractions, lack of motivation or other priorities. So which is it? And, more importantly, what will you do about it?
Do you have a way to hold yourself accountable? Think about why you are off-track now and look for ways to not let yourself go there again. Sometimes, we’re not good at holding ourselves accountable (this one is often tied to how badly we want it or how we sabotage our success with competing beliefs and habits). So look to others to help hold your feet to the fire. It could be a friend, colleague, boss, partner, spouse or coach. Find someone who is invested in your success and won’t let you take the easy way out.
As you take some time off over the July 4th holiday, take a few minutes to write down the above questions. Then take some more time to thoughtfully answer them. And enjoy the fireworks!
