To some, December 31st will be just another Sunday night. The calendar finished out and the year increased by another notch, but other than accidentally writing 2017 for the next few weeks nothing really changed. For others, the New Year means a sort of fresh start. It’s a time where many of us will have reflected on the achievements and struggles of our last year and looked forward to 2018 with an idea of what we would like to accomplish. New job? New home? New dog?
And everywhere you turn there are quick and easy guides to help you accomplish those goals. Articles such as “Five Steps to Winning in 2018!” and “Get Your Dream Job With These 3 Easy Tricks” will be posted to social media, flashed in magazines, and discussed on daytime talk shows.
But life isn’t like that, is it?
We like to treat life like a recipe, believing that if we follow the steps and use the right ingredients, the end product will be just what we hoped. The problem with that is the world is wild, unpredictable, unstable, and surprising. Life makes no promises, and there is no one correct way to accomplish your goals for this year. You can have a strategy that is specific, attainable, and realistic, but that doesn’t mean your plan will result in success. The key to success is not in the plans you make or having the perfect process. The key to meeting your goals in 2018, simply put, is you. You are your greatest force for good in life. You are the only one that will determine outcome of 2018 in your life.
What’s that one thing you need to keep up with if you wish to step up to your next level? Let me reveal it for you. It’s CHANGE. Yes. The truth is: Change is the only constant. Do you realize we live in a world of the most dynamic change that we’ve ever experienced in the entire history of social evolution?
And keep in mind, things will change more rapidly, radically and unpredictably in the future than you get to witness in the present. What’s more, the impact of change on every aspect of your life is something you need to keep your focus on while you make your choices or take your decisions.
At the same time, don’t you think there must be a meaningful purpose to your existence? Remember, there must be an axis around which the forces of your personal and professional change revolve on a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month basis. The most important thing is that you must have something at the center of your being that remains constant. And this is crucial if you want to experience stability and balance in your life. It’s crucial if you wish to enjoy the sense of inner peace and control that goes along with it.
How often do you feel that you are controlled by external circumstances? The fact is you know this deep down in your heart that your life is largely determined by your own personal choices. I’m sure you’ll agree when I say, “You are who you are today because of yourself.” Wouldn’t you agree if I say, “You have become who you are today as the result of the choices and decisions that you made in the past?”
It’s highly important you agree to this before you go ahead. So this brings us to another profound revelation: “If you want to reach somewhere else in the future, it’s up to you to make better choices this moment onwards.”
HAVE YOU CHALKED OUT YOUR ACTION PLAN?
“Don’t wait until you are ready to take action. Instead take action to be ready.” -Jenson Siaw
One of the most remarkable discoveries in 20th century success research is the role of action in your personal development. Why don’t we first begin with defining ACTION? To me, an action can be defined as something with a consequence. Going by this definition, even inaction can be considered to be an action. Why? Here’s your answer. “Because inaction or failure to act on your part, certainly has a noticeable consequence that can dramatically impact your life.”
For instance, a person who fails to take action towards goal, or fails to read regularly, or to listen to positive audio tapes and attend training programs and seminars, is actually committing to “inaction.” And the very fact that it has devastating consequences on one’s future, it certainly can be considered an action.
The crucial actions that determine the quality of your life turn around the virtues and values that you decide to accept in your life. The reality is they are as important to your life as is breathing. And everything that you do is hugely determined by what you value most. They become your values.
The secret is when you live in alignment with your values, you feel good about yourself. And when you get misaligned with your values, you feel badly about yourself. So your values act as your internal compass to help you correct your course each time you get distracted. And here’s something you’ll find very useful each time you decide to focus. It’s easy once you learn…
How to Fire-up Your Quest for Questions
“Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans” – Peter F.Drucker
So how do we make sure this year is everything you dreamed? I don’t have a series of keys or tips for you. Instead, I have something mysterious which has played the key role in molding millions of lives. What is that ‘something’ that helps a few get successful at dizzying speeds where as millions of others drag themselves through their lives. I am sure once you let this sink deep into your subconscious mind it’ll certainly help you realize your own potential this year. First and most importantly, let’s uncover the mysterious power that keeps the successful keep on until they realize their goals. And what’s more what makes them accomplish so fast? Now I would like to help you experience that mysterious power.
As you keep reading you will feel that the secret key doesn’t lie in the techniques they follow. Rather, it lies in the way they question themselves. They understand that life is an answer. And the quality of life you’re experiencing now is actually the result of the kind of questions you put to yourselves a few days or a few months ago.
Now, if this is true, what’s important is to find out how to tap the power of questions, so that you too can unleash the same potential and live your dream life. But before you do that, it’s highly important get inside the ways questions impact you.
Here’s the truth. Questions give us orientation. They help us focus. They help us set our direction. But they go further. What most people don’t realize is they give us orientation in three ways:
1. Thought Orientation
2. Time Orientation
3. Speed Orientation
Thought Orientation: The kind of questions we put to ourselves make our perspective pessimistic, optimistic, or proactive. So it’s just not enough to say that I think positive. Take a step further and even choose the questions which will lead to thoughts you would like to nurture in your mind. That’s when you begin to see change.
Time Orientation: The kind of questions we put to ourselves make our perspective past oriented, present oriented, or futuristic. So it’s just not enough to say that I think positive. Take a step further and even decide to select the questions which will help you accept your past, empower your present and create a better future. That’s how you create the future you wish to experience.
Speed Orientation: The kind of questions we put to ourselves also decide what speed we will choose to move towards our goals at. So instead of just being satisfied with ‘When will I do?’ why don’t you take a step further and ask yourself ‘How soon must I begin acting towards my goal?’ That’s how you decide the speed at which you feel the change. Ready to jet off to your dream life? Here’s the master key.
The Master Key
It is not good enough for things to be planned and acted upon – they still have to be done till the desired goal is reached. Persistence is the key. However, what’s the million-dollar question that can help you stick to your goal each day till you see change in your life.
Straight to the point. The question is ‘WHY’. If you get clear in your head about why you wish to achieve what you intend to achieve, you will stick to your plan come what may.
So if you wish to see your new year resolutions coming true and your plans succeeding, start working on your purpose before you start working on your daily goals. That’s the way successful people say you can get what you want in life. It’s easy only when you begin to act on it. Why don’t you give it a shot right away?
All the best!
Ranjan Kumar