We are well into 2015. My question is how are you on your financial goals or any other goals? If you have set any significant goals, are you still tracking them? I hope you are, but if you are not, perhaps it is time to re-look at your goals.
If you have been setting goals for sometime in the past, do you recognize a pattern? If you see a pattern emerging, perhaps it would be good to analyze your pattern. You see, people are emotional beings. We tend to do things we feel good about. If setting huge somewhat impossible goal de-motivate you to continue, perhaps it would be better to set small achievable goals that allows you a chance of winning. Goals must to be tied in to things you feel good about and it is not just achieving the goal. Preferable, you must have feelings about the actions that you need to take the achieve the goal in the first place. It may not necessarily be a good feeling, it can be also a negative emotion that drive you. For instance the specter of bankruptcy or a bank repossessing your home motivates you into action.
Why do I highlight this? Let’s use a scenario that you’d think most people will be motivated to
make some changes in their life. Surprisingly, studies have shown that the average person who have a life threatening disease, a high percentage do not take the medication prescribed that will save their lives! This is called patience compliance. Imagine this. If having a life threatening disease still not motivate a large percentage to take action, then what about a financial goal that is not “urgent”. The conclusion we can draw here is that it is not easy to change your behavior even if you wanted to.
We have seen all this before. You or someone you know, wanted to lose weight at the beginning of the year. What happens? They go into a diet program or an exercise program that is extreme rather than sustainable. In the end, it flops halfway through. After reading “
Getting Things Done” and putting the dieting analogy in place as well, I’m suggesting to start small. Set an attainable goal and then build from there.
Anthony Robbins mentioned before that people often overestimate what they can achieve in one year and underestimate what they can achieve in 10 years. This just underline the importance of building on successes. Remember, small baby steps is the way to go.
In reading “
Getting Things Done” one key concept I’ve learned and try to apply is when the horizon get’s hazy and our mind fogs up due to the piles of things on our plate, just focus on doing the very thing in front of my nose. This is the one single thing that will move you one step closer to my goal. I think to change your financial habit, you too can do the same. Focussing on the one thing directly in front will help your brain forget the large mountain ahead. You also get to build momentum and most importantly move things along. That is crucial build your new financial habit.
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