How do I stay on course?
While this is a big, broad topic, there are a few simple things that we can learn, and if applied, will help us in most areas of staying on course, or remaining focused.
First off we need to remember the ‘why’ factor in our goal. If we aren’t strong enough in the reasons we desire reaching a goal, it’s just not likely to happen, especially if that goal is a challenging one, and I do hope my readers are not choosing those simple, light-weight non-challenging goals, eh?
Okay, if we have a strong why, and we have our goal with a deadline, then we need only do a couple of things to keep on track and stay focused.
One, get someone to remind you. Simple, right? Two things this will do. One is that telling someone else about your goal makes you 70% more likely to follow through in order to remain consistent (that’s a whole other article, but it is coming. Promise.) You can also use software to remind you.
The second benefit of this is that you will be reminded about your goal, you will revisit the goal, and you will either stay focused on working towards your goal and attain it, or you will avoid the friend and drop the goal.
Two, ask yourself every day at the beginning of the day what you will do to further your journey on the path to your goal. Sometimes you don’t even need to answer the question at that time, but be open to it, be serious with the question, and if you don’t answer, tell yourself, “Self, give me the answer to this question later today when you’ve had time to mull it over.” This works very well to free you from stressing about it, and you will more often than not suddenly find you’ve been ‘inspired’ with a thought about your project or goal. Try it.
It really is that simple.
Here are a couple of easy tips to help you with this:
Put two notes on the corner of your computer screen, or work area, right in front of you. On one write the Question? Am I still working towards my goal? On the other write: Why do I want this goal?
Put them where you will see them, read them, and answer both questions honestly. It’s best to do this at least a couple of times a day. When you glance at the notes, answer the questions.
Every 3 or 4 days changed the notes, their position, simply reverse them, but do something to keep you from becoming complacent about seeing them, getting too comfortable and failing to notice and respond to them.
That’s it. You will see results from this technique almost immediately. Just remember to change them up occasionally and this method will continue to be useful tool for keeping you on track and focused on your goals.