Defining Success is very subjective. It really depends on what it is you are trying to achieve. It is very personal and can be big or small. However if it is not definable it is probably not measureable or achievable.
So where do we begin?
The best place to start is at the beginning. Look at where you are now. Make a list of things you are not happy about. Then pick just one to focus on initially.
This is an important step in my view because if you try to fix everything at once you won’t know where the success or failure came from. It’s a bit like computer programming, if you try to fix all the bugs without applying a systematic approach, you won’t know if you have fixed anything at the end or worse still added more bugs.
It is also less overwhelming to take one step at a time.
If you find you are in a rut and really don’t know where to start, that is overwhelming. I have been to seminars where the speaker asks the question Where do you want to be a Year from now and you see some people writing pages while others are chewing the top of the pen not knowing where to start. You feel like a failure in this kind of scenario because you don’t even know what it is you want, maybe because you have been drifting along for some time without giving it any serious thought.
The key takeaway here is to actually make a start.
Just identify one thing you would like to address whether it’s a financial situation, your weight, your relationships, your job, career, hobbies, fitness level – whatever is important enough to you to want to make a change.
Next you need to write down the goal and it has to be a SMART goal as in, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and have a Time limit.
There is no point in saying I want to run a Marathon tomorrow if you have never run before, while it may be specific, measureable and have a time limit, its unrealistic, and not achievable.
All you will achieve with a goal of this sort is more disappointment and de-motivation.
So work hard at making sure your goal is good and imagine how you will feel if you achieve it. If you don’t think you will have a sense of achievement – maybe it’s not the right goal. Imagine yourself ticking it off at the end. If it’s a huge goal, break it down into smaller steps so you can tick off each step along the way.
The most important thing is to take the time to write it down and refine it until you can say it is definitely a SMART goal.