Forget Resolutions – Get a Vision!
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Every year people write resolutions… mostly personal, but also work related: “I’m going to be more focused and manage my time better,” “I’m going to blog more,” “I’m going to cycle back to my old friends and colleagues and renew those connections,” “I’m going to exercise more,” etc. I relate to these…in fact, these are all things that I want to do!
But I’ve found resolutions are a waste of time if I don’t dig deeper into what will motivate me to do these things and create a plan for doing so.
If a poll was taken of most people, it would reveal that:
- The life they lead is a result of happenstance – and not planning
- Where they are in life is a result of what other people wanted for them and less of what they want for themselves
- And, most sadly, there is a sense of discontent and a feeling of something lacking in their lives. Most people feel that they were designed for something greater than what they are accomplishing.
The solution to all of this is to take those resolutions a step further and create your world by design. There are three elements to making this happen:
- Creating a vision that integrates work and life
- Identifying the strategies that will help lead toward that vision
- Developing routine actions that will carry you toward that vision
One of my greatest joys in working with clients is creating these three elements. So many of us start it backwards… we develop actions or resolutions (“I’m going to network more”) without having a vision and a plan that allows us to create the structures that make it happen. And it leads to failure, frustration and endless New Year’s Resolutions that rarely get implemented.
My next post will be on the first of the three elements: creating a vision that integrates work and life.
By the way, if you’d like to connect in person on this topic, come join me at when I speak as part of the Key Collective in Chicago on Creating Your Business Plans: Visioning & Goal Setting. When you register enter ANN101, you will get $70 off! You can find out more about this event at www.thehumanconnectionbykey.eventbrite.com – hope to see you there!
Tags: Actions, New Year's Resolutions, Strategies, vision
Business Plans, Get Committed, Inspiration, Productivity, vision | Ann Potts January 5, 2012
Ann Potts is a highly credentialed Strategic Executive Coach & Motivational Consultant with more than 20 years experience in corporate leadership roles. An uncommon background gives her unique insight into the power of harnessing inner strengths to engage on a challenging corporate playing field.
