Every year a huge number of people make New Year’s resolutions and promise themselves of achieving something in the New Year. It is February now and the weather is getting milder. Spring is approaching rapidly in London. We are feeling energised and inspired, but how long does this usually last for throughout the year? Each year we come up resolutions but fail to achieve them. Isn’t it something that we all should study and discuss?
We know that everybody wants to achieve something in life whether that be to do with health, finance, work or maybe even happiness. We all want to achieve but only a few lucky ones around us make it there and that too faster than others. The question is what they have that others don’t. What’s so special about them?
According to Jim Rohn, a famous entrepreneur, motivator and author, most people do not have specific goals in life. The acronym SMART gives a good structure to follow when setting your own goals (Specific, Measurable,` Attainable, Realistic and Time- based). What he believes to be the area where they are hitting a brick wall. What they believe to be goals are just mere wishes and hopes to one day be fulfilled. Without specific goals and deadlines, life keeps on running on autopilot and we have no option but to accept what our circumstances bring to us when we should control our circumstances instead. By working towards our goals and not accepting the current situation we can do so. The very first step to achieving is to have them written and put somewhere you can see them. The acronym SMART gives a good structure to follow when setting your own goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time- based).
Goals are just one part of this equation. Goals act as how they should if we work towards them consistently. A single step a day towards a goal is also enough as long as we are taking those steps every single day. Without action, specific goals also turn into frustrating wishes. As a great motivator and speaker, Tony Robbins says “you must take massive action”. He goes on saying that we do not have to be 100 percent ready to start something. An imperfect yet consistent action towards our goal is enough. So the key here is consistency which leads to another part of the success equation – discipline. Sharon Anand says that “for [her], goals are a target [she] sets for [herself] and [she expects] to achieve them in a realistic span of time.”
Above all self-discipline is absolutely essential to achievement. It is self-discipline which makes us able to take consistent action and ultimately leads us to where we want to be. The definition of self-discipline is having the mental ability to do what is required to be done, irrespective of circumstances and our own behaviour in the moment. No matter how we feel at any time, we should always take action. Practising this brings self-discipline. Jim says that “discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment”. One thing great about self-discipline as it affects all areas of our lives. When we start to practice it in one part of our lives, we tend to condition our brain’s neurology to become disciplined in all other parts too. Disciplining smaller things like brushing your teeth before bed can also have a surprisingly tremendous effect on our achievements of other goals.
We just need to start and stay on it. Not quitting is essential. Our minds create habits of things that we do consistently. Now it is up to us whether we create success rituals or failure habits. As per a survey of habits, all self-made millionaires and billionaires surveyed had success habits created by themselves over time with one step at a time enforcing self-discipline. As stated by Darren Hardy, the author of The Compound Effect book, “you will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
Additti Agrawal, Newstead Wood School
