Beau Diaz, goalkeeper and close friend from the University of Louisville soccer team, was famous amongst our teammates for his unique ability to scream “ORGANIZE” to his defense after our opponents were able to get a shot off on goal. Generally, he would make a big time save in which he had to leap five feet through the air to knock the ball over the cross bar by half an inch. As he rose to his feet, “ORGANIZE” would loudly come out of his mouth as we are preparing for defending a corner-kick. If only my voice could do the unique things that Beau’s does – I would scream “ORGANIZE” to all of us. So folks, here goes my best Beau Diaz… ORGANIZE!
This is that unique time of year where we are all aware of what we need to do to improve. Not only from a health standpoint, but personally, financially, and professionally. If you work for a good company – chances are you have had recent meetings about how to make 2015 an amazing year and you now have a clear path to get to these necessary deliverables.
With Christmas and New Year’s – this last week was the first full week you had to develop real patterns and hold fast to them. So my question is – how did you do? Just think for a second… How is it going so far? Regardless, now is the right time to take a step back and organize.
In my personal experience and as I have witnessed in other relationships, I have noticed that there is something almost supernatural about the habits we have created. Whether good habits or bad, there is a profound impact that patterns have on our lifestyle. For some strange reason, we overcome obstacles and find resources to be able to cling to them. Let’s look at smoking for an example. We all know people that make about minimum wage – yet they somehow find a way to smoke a pack a day. Or a good habit example – my lovely bride Suzanne has a habit of working out on a daily basis. Whether we are in Israel on vacation, in our home, or at my Mom’s house – she miraculously finds the time and the resources needed to complete her daily workout. We could all come up with several more examples, but you get the picture.
I have written before about how important it is to give yourself to a certain goal for at least 21 days. Various research studies have identified that a repeated pattern becomes a habit at the 3 week mark. So, I am reminding all of us that in order to achieve our goals this year, let’s be focused on creating habits that will help us get to the specific mile-marker we have set forth.
Before taking another step, grab a sheet of paper and write down:
1. Your goal
2. Habits needed to achieve this goal
3. Resources needed
4. Obstacles to overcome
You have determined your goals. Now determine that you will not deviate from them until they are achieved. More importantly, create habits that align with these goals so you have no choice but to achieve them. And do yourself a favor, keep this piece of paper with you. Take good care of it. One day you may want to frame it.
Best,
-CK