First, let’s agree on something. Without a plan, you lack direction and focus and have no way to measure progress. You can only measure what happened, not the progress you are making. Basically, without a plan you are planning to fail. But having a plan doesn’t mean you will succeed. Often times, even with a plan, you will fail. Here are eight things that most likely are destroying your plan.
1. You set unrealistic time frames to achieve your goals.
You can’t become a successful person overnight and you can’t lose 100 pounds in one week. (I am sorry to tell you that these things advertised in infomercials don’t actually work.) You need to set realistic goals, or you will be disappointed when you don’t achieve your “big” goal, and that might lead to you giving up. That’s something we don’t want, right?
2. You are not asking for support.
You can’t always make it on your own, and requesting support from your friends, colleagues, family and coach can give you the extra oomph you need to succeed. It’s OK to ask for help.
3. You are not learning from your mistakes.
Along the way, you are going to make mistakes. In order to learn and fix things, you need to step back and observe what went wrong. Don’t ignore it and hope it won’t happen again. Not learning from your mistakes can also lead you to beating yourself up. Avoid this path by accepting the mistake, learning and moving forward.
4. You don’t believe.
As Yoda said to Luke Skywalker, “You don’t believe it, that’s why you fail.” You have to have faith that things are going to work out, that everything you do will work out in the end. You need to believe in yourself and your abilities, because YOU CAN DO IT. A favorite quote of mine says: “By believing passionately in something that does not yet exist, we create it.” You see, the first step before anyone believes in you is believing in yourself.
5. You have Plan B which is distracting you from Plan A.
As Will Smith said:
The mentality behind having a “Plan B” is solely based on the idea of you failing; therefore it is fundamentally flawed. By having a back up plan, you already accept the idea that there is a possibility that “Plan A” (which is totally awesome) will fail. So guess what? You will fail because you already told yourself that when you do fail that, “Oh hey, no worries, I have a back up plan.”
6. You are not improving.
Don’t stop improving. Try to learn new things and acquire new skills as much as you can. Don’t be disappointed if your business plan fails because you stopped improving.
7. You are not willing to change.
You and your plan must be nimble and able to adapt as conditions change. When setting up plans, you should pay attention to the changes around you. You should try to adapt as quickly as possible when something unexpected happens. Sometimes you will have to move on; other times, you will have to overcome difficulties. You shouldn’t be afraid to make changes.
8. You are not fully committed.
You can’t be lazy when it comes to your plans. You can’t procrastinate. If you are procrastinator, read how to stop procrastinating in 5 easy steps.You must be fully devoted to your plans and goals or you won’t reach the end zone. If you lack commitment, you won’t give the act of goal attainment, full effort. And as with anything in life, if you don’t give it your all, you receive mediocre results. Commitment is crucial for attaining any goal.
What would you add to the list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
