New Years’ resolution is not enough, deliberate planning is required. As Winston Churchill said: "He who fails to plan is planning to fail."
It is important to know your strengths and to utilise them in your personal and professional endevours. One of my strengths is good planning and organisation. I hardly ever leave the house without a mental checklist of all the things I require to organise or take with me in order to have a productive, enjoyable or a successful day.
I like to consider the result I desire in any aspect of my life, be it a family outing or a professional interaction with a client.
For that I invest time in order to save time, and in the process have my goals achieved, too.
Way too often though, I see people get disappointed with not getting what they want. I actually see people not considering what it is that they want at all.
I hear them say: ‘I would love to spend more time on me, doing what I want. Who wouldn’t?’
Or I hear them say: ‘You are so lucky you travel/go out/read etc. so much. I wish I did that more too but I can't, I am too busy.'
The question I ponder over is this:
Do those who wish their life was different, want it deliberately or do they recognise that desire as one of the things they would also, easily enjoy, if it happened?
Here is the thing:
The more uncertain we are about our priorities, the more likely we are to get distracted by the things, which we would 'also, easily enjoy', but which are actually not our priorities.
Conversely, a person who is clear on their goals, stays focused on achieving them specifically, rather than gets their mind scattered around other noise.
Knowing what we would also enjoy doing or having is not enough to lead a fulfilling life.
As discussed during one of the recent Women’s Circle Events, intention is essential to ensure the success of every undertaken action. In other words, if you hope for certain outcomes in your professional and personal life, you need to deliberately intend that they happen.
To plan for your short and long-term future you need to follow a certain process:
1. You need to know what you truly want
2. Identify your developmental needs to achieve and progress on your path
3. Explore and open up to your opportunities
4. Identify potential challenges
5. Create the Plan of Action
Join me at the Deliberate Planning, Deliberate Living: Create Self-Development Plan for 2018 on 8 February 2018 where I walk you through this 5-step process.
Registrations close on 1 February.