No matter how grand your plans are… it’s worthless if you just dream about it. Execution is the be all and end all of all dreams. It is the key difference between someone’s who has “made it in life” and someone “who hasn’t even begun.”
I’ve had my share of frustrations and almost all of it stemmed from the fact that I’d failed to execute on my plans. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.
Here’s a big idea — if you have 10 goals focus on the top three goals that need immediate attention. Yes, I’m asking you to temporarily forget seven of your most important goals. Just focus on the top three.
From your top three goals select the one that deserves your most attention. The one that you absolutely must conquer. Once done, break this goal down further into manageable chunks.
It’s quite possible that you’re now looking at 10 different milestones to achieve just your first goal. And I’m not trying to scare you… you know this is elementary but this is exactly why you haven’t been able to get started! Because you want to do it all at once! I’ve been there myself and it’s darn frustrating!
Here’s what you do next — work on achieving these milestones. One at a time. And don’t stop until you have achieved your last milestone which will lead you to complete your first goal. Next up, your second goal. So on and so forth.
If you’re screaming, “Sunil… this will take up a lot of time!” You’re right. It will. But you need to understand that you’re not a microprocessor. You’re a mono-processor. You were wired to do one thing at a time. Irrespective of the technological advancements around us, biologically it seems we’re stuck. And you’re probably gonna live with it. Or stay in denial for the rest of your life. Your choice.
As a coach, I can’t help but encourage them to think for themselves. Heck, that’s my job. But more often than not my clients realise that they’re way too ambitious and have overwhelmed themselves with way too much to achieve. More than they can possibly handle.
And that’s one of the biggest problems with motivation. We get pumped up and set stupendous goals… and then waste an entire lifetime wondering how to achieve them.
The solution is pretty simple — take action or stay stuck. You can be that person with the most ambitious of goals who hasn’t moved an inch. Or someone with modest goals who achieved them all… one goal at a time.
Don’t stay stuck with your ambitions. Take action. I heard Misael Diaz a couple of days back, sum it up best, “Intention without action creates frustration.“