10 Steps to Taking Action on Your Goals

Execute/Evaluate is the final step of my Value Program.  Having created a vision of meaningful work you know where you want to go.  With the assessments you have taken you know what your behavioral style, strengths, values and talents are.  By leveraging the resources you have you can now begin to take action.  Knowing what about you and your practice or career makes you unique gives you a way to differentiate yourself from others.  Now that you have all this information you will want to move forward by taking action.  What are the steps you will need to execute/evaluate?

1. Where do you want to begin?  Some of you may begin by taking the first step toward your vision.  Your goal will be to complete that first step.  Others may be want to work on something else.  There may be a behavior from the assessments you need to adjust or a resource you need to leverage.  Perhaps you need to further flush out your uniqueness.  Set two or three goals for yourself.
2. How will you know you were successful?  Evaluation goes with goal setting.  How will you measure the result?  If your goal is to give a presentation to get new clients then one measure of success would be giving the presentation.  A second would be to establish the number of clients you would like to get and then count the clients that come to you as a result of the presentation.  If your goal is to apply for a job you want and are well suited for, then one measure of success will be the number of jobs you applied for and the second would be how frequently you were called for an interview.
3. Break each goal into bite size pieces.  List on paper the small steps that will lead you to completing the goal.
4. Create a timeline for accomplishing each step to reach the goal.  You will need dates and times when each step is completed.  Sometimes a goal will be dependent on the work of others.  This timeline will force you to realistically negotiate dates with others so the timeline will be reasonable.
5. Stay in the present moment.  The only way to complete your timeline is to focus on the step you want to take.  One technique to use to stay focused when you feel your mind wandering is to concentrate on your breathing for a few minutes and then begin the step.  This will allow you to move forward steadily.
6. Tell others about your goals.  Saying what you intend to accomplish out loud to another person makes you commit to your goals yourself.  You become accountable to the other person who is sure to ask how you are doing.    If you don’t want to enlist the aid of your friends, hire a coach for accountability and to insure success.
7. Go back to your vision regularly.  It is important to keep in mind why you want to execute the step.  If you are doing it only because you think you should it will be hard to be successful.  Instead know exactly why you chose to do this step and see it in relation to the big picture—your vision.
8. Keep a positive and enthusiastic mindset.  This will give you the energy you need to complete the step.  The greatest obstacle to success is a negative mindset.  Keep your intention focused on the step you are working on and keep your mindset positive about your ability to achieve it.
9. Decide on a realistic amount of time to stay on each step each day.  If you have similar timelines for each goal then you will need to leave time to work on the others.  If you have a job or practice you will need time to work on that too.  Make sure your timeline is realistic and that you work on the project regularly.  Build momentum.
10. Celebrate success.  As you complete each step spend a few minutes basking in the glory of accomplishment and give yourself a reward.  It is important to feel successful because one success will lead to another.  You want to feel satisfied by your accomplishment. This is what you are working for.