Why plan?
Each year we turn a new chapter in our lives. New beginnings call for new plans and new resolutions. As human beings we owe it to ourselves to improve each day. New Year represents a perfect timing to chart out the ways we want to improve ourselves, be it by planning for a career move or learning a new skill like a new language or swimming. In that direction, out of personal experience I can say with confidence that planning things out does give oneself some perspective of where you stand and where you want to get to. The ‘go with the flow’ attitude towards life takes you just as far as what chance has in store, and more often than not we regret not doing certain things that we should have. Imagine yourself in a sea, just drifting based on the current of the waves. Where would you get to?! In my opinion, this is similar to a life without any plans to follow or goals to reach. Planning life ahead helps one prepare mentally for the tussle and discipline required for reaching one’s goals.
Goal setting!
Some would say ‘I do not want to waste time in planning as I never follow what I plan’! Mind you this is not lack of motivation, resistance to change, or a commitment issue at all. The reason why you took out time to plan instead of spending it doing something else is because you are prepared for change and because you think you would be committed to bring out those changes in your life. I would identify the failure to follow plans as loophole in the goal setting process. It is of paramount importance to set achievable goals. There’s got be a realistic view of your circumstances and your capabilities while planning; only then is it possible to keep yourself motivated to reach your goals. We all must have heard about setting SMART goals, i.e., goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound.
Give yourself ample thinking space and time while setting goals and planning. If carefully done, this could be your blueprint for implementing successful changes that you have always wanted to achieve. Get into details of the what, when, and how. Visualise and imagine the small things in your journey; starting from how would you feel when you achieve your goal and then work your way backwards to where you are now. Imagine your journey to get to your goals, work out the tasks that you would have to factor in to get there and finally put all of it on paper. It is a good helpful technique to display your goals in your work area or home to reinforce them day in and day out.
Way ahead…
Once you have made plans whatever they may be, big or small, just keep in mind the following while trudging towards them. I am going to quote a few famous sayings and/or my interpretation of them in the text below, simply for the reason that they perfectly sum up in few words the shifts in thinking patters that we need to achieve to get to our targets.
Albert Einstein said “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. If you want to achieve different results in any realm, change the way you approach it! Research and reinvent!
Never look back. What was was in the past! Do not let the events that happened in the past restrict you from achieving your goals in the future. Accept the situation as it is. Let go of what happened in the past, let go of the why not’s and the should have’s and look ahead. That’s where you would find success.
Dreams are turned into reality by acting on them. To dream and plan is not enough, Action is very important as well. It is you who has the capability to make or break your dreams and aspirations of your perfect life simply by being trapped in the past or by not acting on your plans.
Finally, never mind the setbacks, keep your focus on your goals and move on. Falling seven times is not important, what is important is to have got up the eighth time. Ever seen an ant reach a sugar bottle on the top most shelves, the ant falls several times before it gets up there…never gives up till it reaches its destination! Accept setbacks, use them as learning experiences and move ahead.
Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be. – Sonia Ricotti
Have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014!
Cheers!!
So…what are your new year’s resolutions? 🙂
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