I was having a conversation with a couple of people a few days ago about New Year resolutions. We are already three months into the year and is at this point when people tend to realise that nothing has happened with the declarations that they made on January 1st. As we spoke I remembered something my sister once told me that just stuck with me. She said that we cannot shrink into greatness. Are you already realising that you have not done anything towards your goals? Are you starting to sense that this year may end up being like last year and the year before that? There are mistakes we make that that keep this cycle repeating itself. We want big things but we do the exact opposite. We want to invest, create wealth, get promoted, run great businesses but some habits just hold us back. Here are the different ways that we try to apply with the hope of shrinking into greatness, it’s time to do things differently.
1. We talk ourselves out of it.
The most influential voice is the one inside your head. If you were to record this voice for just one day you would be shocked. We tell ourselves nasty things. Why we can’t do it, why we don’t and won’t have enough, how bad we will look if we try, how we will not be able to recover if we fail, how we must first have more money, friends, ideas, networks before we can even start. I have given my entrepreneurship class an exercise that takes thirty minutes a day but if done has the potential to completely shift how they approach their businesses. Many have still talked themselves into believing they don’t have time but they will easily use the same time on TV, social media etc. The time does exist but the voice in your head may convince you otherwise. In addition to the voice in the head, we then go and meet up with people who believe the same thing. This only fuels our false conviction of how it won’t work.
2. Setting goals that do not actually have any meaning.
One of the people I was conversing with had said they would buy a car. They actually have the money to do so it is not a question of affordability. They simply hadn’t done it. As we spoke further the idea to buy the car was not actually his. It was his family, friends, and colleagues that had put that notion into his head. He would actually rather use the money and grow his business. Have you set goals that are actually not important to you and that is why there is no progress? That is why it so easy to get distracted. Society as defined for us the things we should have. For example, a nice home, car, clothes, plots of land, run a business, be a manager in your organisation, job etc. I have often found that there is a big difference between what you want and how society has defined it. You don’t have to do life the way others do.
3. No action.
Let’s say you wanted to go on a beach holiday at the end of the year. On that day that you go, you will call it ‘Today’. Right now it seems like just a day in the future. So it is actions that you will do in the various today’s that lead up to that grand moment that you actually do go. There will be savings, bookings, research, payments along the way. Without these seemingly mundane activities, your holiday will not happen. The same principle applies to our bigger goals. The ones we set. We may not see how it all comes together but always take next best step. It is these steps that activate the process. Save what you can even if it has no relation to the amount you will eventually need. It will get you thinking. Some ideas will come that would never have crossed your mind if you had not started. If I had not taken the risk and gone and done a financial plan for that first individual, the training programs that Centonomy runs now would not exist. Do the research, see the prospective client, have a futuristic conversation with your boss etc.
To put all this together, have a vision that is stronger than the temptation to shrink. Shrinking will always be the easier thing to do. You don’t risk being uncomfortable. Vision helps you learn to ignore the voice in the head when need be, set goals in line with your true values and dare to take the steps that are in front of you even when you risk failure or looking like a fool. You cannot shrink into greatness.
Waceke runs courses on Personal Finance and Entrepreneurship. Get in touch with her on waceken@centonomy.com|Facebook/WacekeNduati| Twitter@cekenduati