What happens every year between Christmas and New Years Eve? Millions of people make New Years Resolutions.
How many people keep those resolutions past the first few days of the new year? Very, very few.
Why?? It doesn’t matter… Young, old. Moms. Dads. Children, adults.
They lack a plan or they lack a realistic plan. Zig Ziglar once said that most people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.
PREPARATION FOR CHANGE
The third phase in the Stages of Change model is Preparation. This phase can actually last a few months, depending on the desired change and the ultimate goal.
This is where so many plans and resolutions die.
We’ve established there is something you want to change and you’ve found some reason for actually wanting to make that change. How will you make that change and by when?
I’ve lost track of the number of people I’ve met over the years that are agonizing over finding that one elusive, perfect, plan for whatever it is they want to do.
It becomes paralysis by analysis. Nothing changes. Nothing gets done or the plan is abandoned in short order.
How do you know if you’ve picked the right plan or course of action?
Try it. If it fails, you could try it again or try something different. FAILURE is part of the change process.
Just because something didn’t work the first time, second time, third, fourth or fifth doesn’t mean you OR the plan is a failure.
It took over 500 lab tests for Edison to create the light bulb. Remember that the next time you’re sitting at home late at night.
FAILURE is a part of the change process and it is where you have the opportunity to learn the most. That learning can lead to finding the ‘right’ plan for you and yielding the greatest changes in your life. Changes that you can be immensely proud of.
We’ve talked about taking inventory in your life and identifying areas of dissatisfaction. After that, you’ve done an analysis of the pros and cons of making change.
TAKE ACTION!
It’s time to PREPARE and take action. Change may not happen overnight and that is perfectly normal. Your task for this week is to work on ONE THING. Make sure it is something you know you can do and you want to do it.
You must be at least 90% sure you can do this consistently for one week. If not, pick something else. Do it every day for one week. At the end of the 7 days, take a step back and assess what went well, what went poorly and what you learned.
Make any necessary changes, including making a new plan if that one turned out terrible. Run with it for another week and repeat the process again.
I would be honored to share your journey of change with you. Will you allow me to do that? Email me at 1ericwylie@gmail.com and let me know what your plan is and where you are with that plan. Would you like to chat for a bit? Fill out my online form:
Again, it would be my honor to partner with you. Thanks for reading!