A visionary thinker, you’re excited about the New Year because you’re already thinking of where you want your business to be at the end of this year.  I’d like to invite you to take a step back.

We focus so much on what’s next that we forget to enjoy the moment and celebrate our accomplishments.  As you checked each task off your To Do list last year, your first instinct was probably to look for the next thing to do.

You’re excited by your projects so you’re eager to see them come to fruition; however, there’s also a lot to be gained by looking back to celebrate and learn.

Celebrate!

I only realized how focused I always was on the future when my first coach pointed out that I rarely took time to celebrate my accomplishments.  At her invitation, I went through my previous year’s agenda and listed everything I had accomplished in my first year in business as a coach.  I filled two pages of significant milestones that had zipped by unnoticed and un-celebrated!  All this time I thought I wasn’t making progress; I felt I wasn’t very successful and that was very frustrating.

So I sent my coach this list and together we celebrated what I had accomplished that year that I’d almost missed!  By the way, if you’ve never done it before, do it.  You’ll be amazed how great it feels to celebrate your own accomplishments.

What Have You Learned From Your Accomplishments?

Looking back also helps you learn.  Look at your accomplishments.  What did you do to achieve them?  What kind of person did you become in the process?  What have you learned from the experience and how can you use this knowledge in the future?

If you began to network with other business people last year, you might have needed to get out of your comfort zone.  By doing that, you became someone who doesn’t let fear stop you, or you discovered that meeting people wasn’t as difficult as you thought is was.  Maybe you discovered you enjoy connecting with people.  You may even be so encouraged that you decide you’ll take bolder steps to connect with others.  See what I mean?

Turn Failures Into Learning Experiences

Now, doing this exercise may remind you of your failures as well.  The most amazing part of looking back is the shift that occurs when you notice what didn’t work.  I’m going to tell you something many gurus (and it doesn’t really matter what they’re gurus of!) will never tell you: it’s ok to look at your failures.  In fact, it’s essential if you want to learn (and you do want to learn, right?!)

But instead of dwelling on how you “screwed up”, I want you to embrace your so-called failures as the learning experiences they really are, use them as the opportunities to grow that they represent, and become wiser and better.  The next time you encounter a similar situation, you’ll be looking back at it as one of your accomplishments instead of one of your failures.  Just ask yourself:

1. What did I learn from this experience?  What went wrong (and even in the middle of the failure, did anything go right? How can we make sure we don’t lose what went right?)
2. If this or a similar situation happens again, what changes can I make to achieve a better outcome?
3. What systems, habits or structures do I need to put in place to be ready for the next time?  How will I recognize that the same thing is about to happen?  And how will I be sure to react to it happening in the new and improved way?

Can you imagine the meteoric improvement you’d spark if you looked at every accomplishment and every failure as a learning opportunity, and actively worked as pulling out every single lesson and acting on it?  That might just be worth taking some time to look back for a moment, don’t you think?

So, on your mark…  Get set…  Look back!

If It Was Easier to Succeed Than It Was Fail…

Getting something done is a three-step process. You can boost your productivity by taking the right three steps.

Let’s say you need to go to the post office. First step, “I can’t forget to go to the post office this afternoon.” Second step, get distracted because you got involved in something more important than going to the post office (I know it’s hard to imagine, but…). The third step? Beat yourself up! “I can’t believe I forgot to go to the post office… again!”

Everyone forgets.  You’re an entrepreneur so you have a lot of your plate, many demands on your time and numerous distractions vying for your attention.  You will forget things.  Forgetting an errand isn’t a sign of Alzheimer’s or that you’re getting old.

A slight adjustment in your three-step process can really pump up your performance.  Instead of worrying that you “should” be able to remember to do things, just adopt a systematic approach to your errands.  The benefits of systemizing your business are legend (as outlined in The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber, required reading for every entrepreneur), but we often neglect to apply this same idea to our daily lives.

First step, “I can’t forget to go to the post office this afternoon.”  Second step?  Set yourself up for success; imagine you have scheduled a meeting agenda from 2 to 3 pm.  After the meeting, you know you’ll be tied up following up with other attendees and then you’ll at your office, you’ll be bombarded with the phone messages, emails and other emergencies.  To have any chance to get to the post office, you have to go before the meeting.  Note the 10 minute post office trip in your agenda and set a reminder in your cell phone/personal digital assistant 15 minutes before the meeting.

When your alarm goes off at 1:45 pm, you can easily excuse yourself from anything you’re doing because “you have a meeting to go to.”  There’s no point starting anything else since you only have 15 minutes free before the meeting; it’s the perfect time to go to the post office (and you’ll get to check it off your To Do list!)

Third step, pat yourself on the back!  Adjust the timing to your own situation, but you can see how, by thinking systematically, you can find ways in almost any situation to make it easier to succeed than to fail.

You can apply this approach in numerous situations.  Want to exercise more?  You could rely on willpower, but what if you signed up for a class… with a friend?  Now it’s hard to fail because you’d be letting your friend down.  It’s easier just to go (and succeed!)

So that’s the key.  When you can make it easier to succeed than to fail, make it easier to do what you want to do than to avoid it, your productivity will soar and you’ll move toward your goals, not by inches but by leaps and bounds.

What strategies do you use to make it easier to succeed than to fail?

By Linda Walker