How Committed Are You To Getting The Results You Seek?
Although this is a re-post from a couple of years back, I think it is a still good reminder for taking effective steps to get started on the right foot in the New Year:
Many people start off the New Year with good intentions for fulfilling resolutions, but their interest and enthusiasm often wanes away by the end of February. This year, make a difference in your life. Review your habits and past behaviors that have previously not produced the results you desire. Be honest with yourself. Examine your circumstances carefully to determine what part you have played in the outcomes you have experienced. Don’t rely on your employer, market conditions, or your family obligations to dictate what happens to you (or doesn’t) this year. Make a commitment to reach your goals by outlining specific actions to accomplish them.
It seems the elements I observe that contribute more frequently than not to a stalled job search or poor results are associated with three elements: lack of commitment, failure to plan and unwillingness to change. The following questions might help you to determine if you are setting yourself up for success, or more of the same this year.
Commitment
- Are you truly committed to making a change this year?
- Have you written down your goals? Are they specific? Are they measurable?
- How many times in the past have you held off planning a course of action to “wait and see” the results of someone/something else’s actions before you make a decision to do something? Why? What would happen if you simply made a decision to take action, make a commitment, and in the worst-case scenario, had to change your plans later?
- Are you able/willing to stay focused? If you are not what are the barriers? What can you do about them?
- Are you willing to work long hours, weekends and holidays for a limited time to accomplish what you desire?
Planning
- Do you know what you need to get done each day?
- How far ahead do you plan your schedule? Are you looking ahead at least 90 days?
- How many hours per day have you worked on your employment (or other) goals in the past?
- How much time do you plan to dedicate to working on your employment (or other) goals every day, every week, every month for the next year?
- How many times have you allowed distractions to prevent you from completing what you have set out to do because you don’t have a plan?
Change Your Behavior – Develop New Habits
- Have you continued to do the same things over and over expecting to get different results? (uh, oh. You know what that means!)
- On a scale of one to ten, with ten being excruciatingly uncomfortable, how uncomfortable are you with your present circumstances?
- Are you willing to sustain that degree of discomfort for 30 days? 60 days?
- Have you made a conscious decision to consistently establish and practice new behavior on a daily basis? In the past, have you stuck with it for more than 30 days?
What is the biggest change you will make this year?
Tags: goals, job hunting
Make a Commitment to Reach Your Career Goals
Although this blog has been previously published, I think the message is always helpful at the beginning of a new year.
Too often, people establish career goals the same way they make New Year’s resolutions. The problem with resolutions is that they fade away, are forgotten, and are only a distant memory by February. To actualize your desire for a change, exchange your resolution for a COMMITMENT to action.
Why a commitment and not just a wish?
Achievement of a goal doesn’t happen overnight. Job seekers are confronted with many issues beyond their control—economic conditions, competition, HR, and internal politics for a start. These issues can be very daunting and discouraging. The fact is you can’t reach your goal until you choose to face these challenges head on, with a plan of attack. Making the COMMITMENT to do so is within your control. Your goal becomes more than a “wish”.
Take charge – stay committed!
Don’t rely on your employer, market conditions, or your family obligations to dictate what happens to you (or doesn’t). Make a decision about what you need to do, commit to it, then adjust as events occur. Commitment to your goal and acting on it is more likely to produce the results you want than sitting idly as you wait for things to change.
Make a commitment to reach your goals by first being committed to the process, no matter what.
- Keep yourself in check for things you can control. Recognize that you can make a choice each and every time something comes up that presents itself as a challenge.
- Write out your goals. Make them specific and measurable.
- Proceed through your outline of specific actions that lead to your specific goals.
What kind of resolutions are you planning for the New Year that could more effectively be treated as a goal?
Tags: choosing a career, goals
