Think it, Ink it, Do it, Review it, by Sunil Bali
At my seminars I usually ask how many people have set goals which they’ve actually written down. A few hands normally go up.
I then ask how many people have taken some sort of life insurance or life cover. At which point most of the people in the room raise their hand.
It’s amazing how many of us plan for dying but not for living!
Remember that Martin Luther King didn’t just have a dream. He also had a plan.
The best way of overcoming procrastination and maximising your productivity is to have quarterly goals, a weekly plan and a daily schedule in place before you start each day.
When your inspiration has dried up and you’re going through hell, your daily schedule will give you the focus to keep going.
When it comes to making your dreams a reality, the process of:
• think it
• ink it
• do it
• review it
Really works.
Let me explain why goal setting is so essential.
If a man goes to the men’s toilet at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, he’ll notice that there’s a fly in the bowl. No matter how good his aim and no matter how hard he tries, he just can’t get rid of the fly. When he looks at the other urinals, he notices that that they too have flies in exactly the same position. The truth is that there are no real flies. They’re drawings that have been etched into the surface of the porcelain.
You see, fly in urinal research shows that when a man has got something to aim for spillage reduces by up to 85%!
The same is true of having goals. Having goals focuses your energy and reduces your chances of wasting it.
Like all other animals on the planet, we humans have a need to learn, to grow and to evolve. It’s part of the evolutionary process. It’s something that’s been hard wired into us. That’s why, when we achieve a meaningful goal or complete a task, whether that’s hitting a sales target, baking a cake or doing some exercise, the body rewards us with its natural opiate called an endorphin and we feel great.
But a word of caution; the reason most people wallow in mediocrity is that they have goals which don’t inspire them. People aren’t fundamentally lazy, it’s just that they set impotent goals.
So when you set your goals, be sure to set BIG goals with a wow factor, so that when you achieve them, it puts a massive smile on your face and has you jumping up and down for joy.
Sunil Bali
As well as being a recognised authority on human performance, Sunil is a critically acclaimed author and blogger, with over 35,000 subscribers to his weekly blog.
His corporate experience includes roles as Head of Talent on behalf of Vodafone Group and Santander. During this time Sunil was responsible for hiring over 50,000 people.
www.sunilbali.com
James Mapes is the founder of Quantum Leap Thinking™, creator of The Transformational Coach™, expert on the psychology of “applied imagination,” best-selling author, highly acclaimed business speaker, consultant, seminar leader and personal excellence coach.