Ever
wonder why someone who is great at what they do is great at what they do? It’s not always because they were born with some talent or natural ability (although that helps). The greats are great because they simply do what they want to be great at ... over and over and over.
They practice. Then, they practice some more. Once they've gotten good, they strive to improve, step-by-step, day-by-day, until they're great. As they do this, their creativity starts awakening, and they get trapped in the beautiful
cycle of continuing to get better and better and better as they become masterful.
People
who never become great fail to do so because they don't write their goals down. That means they always have them stuck in their head, they aren't taking action, and they
have no “room” to think of ideas on how to act on them.
To become great, let's just start with the first step: writing down what you want. Let's get you in the habit of just taking that first step.
The
following are some exercises you can do to start getting into the habit of
writing things down.
1. Journaling.
Keep
a journal of your life. Motivational Speaker Anthony Robbins said, “If your
life is worth living, it’s worth recording.” So true. Nobody can write the
story of your life better than you. Take time to remember the good memories of
your life and do them justice. Don’t leave them to the chance of the fragile
mind. Write down every detail using your five senses and do so on a nightly
basis. You will find that you'll uncover things about yourself you never
realized before.
2. Question and Answers.
Writing
out a simple clear question and answers to it is another powerful, yet simple
approach to get into the habit of writing things down. In the case of my
daughter’s goal, writing her goal in the form of a question led to pretty good
ideas. A high school kid could easily make a hundred bucks in profit on a
weekend using the solution found above.
3. Mind Mapping.
I
was first introduced to mind mapping when I read Tony Buzan’s book on the
subject. I was blown away. It was very helpful. Mind mapping is an extremely
powerful tool in terms of learning, brainstorming, and stimulating creativity.
It
starts by you writing down a question, goal, or idea on the center of a piece
of paper and circling it. Then you can start branching off answers, other
ideas, or tangents by drawing lines from that center circle, writing down the
other things that come to mind and circling them. Then you can expand from that
circle or from other circles. Soon you will have a spider web of interconnected
ideas.
For
more information on mind mapping, you can use our trusty friend Google!
4. Your Own Pep Talk.
I
think this step can be a fun and powerful tool to demonstrate the power of
writing things down and can also get you into the habit of writing.
Most
people nowadays are experts in self-criticism. To counter that thought process,
try writing down a pep talk to yourself that you can refer to every time you
need a boost.
Think
of all the positive qualities you possess. Write them down! You know what’s
going to happen? You free up room in your brain for more good qualities, which
you write those down too. You start becoming creative and write down things
you’ve never seen in yourself, causing the floodgates to start to open.
The
result will be a masterpiece about yourself that you never knew existed.
Cherish
your masterpiece about you, and be sure to add to it daily to become your own
personal pep talk.
Writing
is magic. It has the power to touch other people, to transform lives, to move
people to take action, and to accomplish monumental dreams.
So
what are you waiting for? Get into the habit of writing down. Start writing down your goals.
I
will now leave you with an exercise you can do that will transform your life
from this day forward.
Step 1:
Write
down one clear goal you would like
to accomplish this year that will make the biggest impact on your life.
Step 2:
Write
that goal down in the form of a clear
question.
Step 3:
Write
a list of answers on how you can accomplish the one goal you’ve chosen.
By
doing these simple steps, you'll find that you will be more motivated to take
action in accomplishing your goals, because they're not stuck in your head.
Write
It Down -> Gets it Out of Your Head -> Write More Down -> Stimulates
Your Creativity -> Great Ideas and Action Plans Start to Formulate ->
Implement Them -> Achieve Your Goals --> Become masterful!
Your dreams and goals start to
manifest the second you write them down, so write them down now. You’ll
be glad you did.
Honorée
has dedicated her life to being a positive force for good. She writes
personal and professional growth and development books, and The
Successful Single Mom book series. As an executive coach and corporate
trainer, she turns service providers into rainmakers, average
producers into rock-stars, and dreams into reality. For more
information on how she can specifically help you or your
organization, click here.
