In my past experiences working with clients to find effective ways to help them achieve their goals, the most common mistake I see people make is trying to find a magic bullet for better results without first changing their thinking, their fixed mindset, their bad habits. Only by stepping out of your comfort zone, by transforming your mindset and emotional state, can you take new action leading to new habits that will help you achieve more exciting goals.
Many of my clients look for answers in books, yet books don’t have the secret. There’s nothing wrong with books — reading books are a great way to gain knowledge and can have a profound impact with new possibilities — but reading a book to learn new skills, like how to drive a car, usually doesn’t work. You may obtain lots of new knowledge, but it’s not the best way for you to get new results, to get to the next level of success.
Next, many people look for a new time management system or the latest hack to help them become more efficient, rather than becoming more effective by doing the right things, in the right order, to achieve their most important goals. At the end of the day, the foundations of time management, coupled with a mindset shift in the present moment and hard work, will always deliver the best results. As Peter Drucker said, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
Another common trap people fall into with their goal setting and action plans is getting ready to get ready. Constantly organizing their office, environment, and business development systems. There is a time and place for getting organized, but this will not lead to better results.
And then there’s the ultimate time suck — social media and looking for all the ways they can capitalize in the digital world. People will create a Facebook page, Instagram page, TikTok account, LinkedIn profile, website, an X account, all in the hopes that it’s the easiest way for people to find them and buy from them. Remember, “hopeium” is a dangerous drug to be playing with these days. The real key is to make yourself valuable through personal growth, so people will seek you out.
The first step to get you new results this year is to change your thinking, change your emotions, and change your behavior. This can only be done by having a growth mindset and, on a daily basis, leveraging your assets and minimizing your biases. I’m a strong believer in how small steps make big differences, which then translate into powerful success stories. Learn more at Achievable.com.
