What Do You Need To BE This Year?

Ahh, January. The month we get all fired up about everything we're going to do in the coming year. We hope, we dream, we make lists, we sketch ideas on napkins. We resolve, we commit, we join. We talk, we boast, we share on Facebook. 

And then we actually DO very little.

"Not this year," we tell ourselves, "THIS year will be the year I reach my goals, keep my resolutions, and lose that last 20 lbs."

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Sorry, did I write that out loud?

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, well, then January should be called National Insanity Month. I think I'll write Obama to see if he'll make it official.

If you've got a list of resolutions, goals, or to-dos for the coming year, that's ok. In fact, it's good. Having those things is way better than not having those things. But they are only 1/3 of the "secret formula" for succeeding.

One of the missing ingredients for many people is a plan. We set goals, but we fail to create the plan that will transport us from point A to point B. This is the "how" part. If you want to double your salary this year, how are you going to do that? What steps will you take to earn or produce more income? Once you identify those steps, ta-da! You've got a plan. You don't need a master's degree in strategic planning to create a plan to reach your personal goals. All you need is an hour and a piece of paper. Or that really cool iPad you got for Christmas.

The third, and most supremely powerful ingredient, is missed by almost everyone. Many people set goals, many people make solid, achievable plans, and very few people achieve even a fraction of what they set out to do each year. So what's missing?

Once you've got your goals and your plans, you've got to really dig and discover what you need to BE to make those things happen.

Running a full marathon (as opposed to one of those wimpy half-marathons) is one of the easiest goals to set and plan. In fact, you can go online and download a training plan from a thousand different websites right now. So aside from juggling your schedule a bit to fit the training in -- oh, and the actual running part -- running a full marathon should be one of the easiest goals to achieve. But it's not, is it?

Running a marathon requires you to do more than set the goal and plan for the goal. It requires you to BE things you've never been before.

Running a marathon requires you to BE:

- Committed. As in, committed to training above almost everything else in your personal life, including social activities, television, and even family time.

- Healthy. As in, healthier than you've ever been. That means eating better and getting more sleep.

- Focused. As in, don't even think about achieving a whole lot else while you're in marathon mode.

- Crazy. As in, you don't care what your out of shape friends think about your loony plans to conquer 26.2 miles of asphalt.

There are probably other things you need to BE to run a marathon, but you get the point. Can you see how critical this component of BEING is?

You will never achieve your goals unless you also discover and become what you need to BE to reach those goals. By the way, this works for teams and organizations as well as individuals. For a team to reach a goal, it also must figure out the state of being required to propel iself toward the finish line.

Now, dig your goals out and give some serious thought to what you will need to BE to make this year an amazing year for you, your team, or your entire organization. Work on you and what you need to BE first, and I promise you, the rest will come so much easier and faster that it might just freak you out a bit.

I will warn you, though, that committing to a new way of being will mean you have to let go of all the excuses that you created by your old way of being. That's easier said than done because those old excuses are sooooooo comfortable. For a good dose of inspiration, watch this Nike commercial featuring someone who figured out how to BE what he needed to be to reach his goals. By doing so, he also became a legend.

Let's create a legendary year together.


This year, I really want you to be a part of the conversation. Leave a comment and share one of your goals and what you need to BE to reach that goal. Your words might just inspire someone else!