Goals and Slacking

You probably never expected to see the words Goals and Slacking side by side. Especially with an illustration of someone's 10 year life plan. It's December 1, 2010, and two things are happening right now:

1. People are completing end of year goals and/or planning for 2011.

2. Because it's the holiday season, people are doing as little as possible.

WHICH ONE ARE YOU DOING?

If you want the next one, three, or five years of your life to be different and better than today, I suggest you focus on number 1. If you only want to talk about change and continue doing the same things and getting less than desired results, chances are you fall into bucket number 2. Not just this year, but every year.

LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE

I got a call from Monica Pena today. She was following up to see if I was still attending an event she'd invited me to tonight. I told her not to expect me because I've blocked off this entire month to get more writing done and to work on plans for 2011. Guess what? Monica said she'd done the same thing. However, in her case, she's devoting time to completing the 2010 goals she hasn't accomplished yet. This is the kind of drive and work ethic that ensures you won't get stuck in complacent mode and looking back a few years from now wondering why everyone else is living their dreams and you're not.

LESSONS FROM A STRANGER

My virtual mentor (whom I've never met and he doesn't even know I consider him a mentor) shared a valuable lesson with me in November 2009. He said he worked extra hard and pushed out more content this time of year because he gains an advantage over others who don't. He went on to say some people give themselves permission to slack and this allows you an opportunity to "sneak some success in" and get ahead of everyone who's putting things off until the new year.

BALANCE AND ALTERNATIVE

Please don't mistake my point for one that doesn't advocate the value of down/quality time with loved ones. I recently spoke with someone who told me she kicks it into high gear for nine months out of the year so she can have summers off. There's no one-size-fits-all way of going about it. Do what's best for you and your desired outcomes.

Keep the momentum. Do something. And if you do it when everyone else is doing nothing, imagine where your life will be in 2020.

Photo credit: lululemon athletica