Changing Is Hard - Do It Anyway
by Peter McLaughlin and Peter McLaughlin, Jr.

I thought I’d weigh in with a few ideas to help you set — or renew — exciting goals for your business and your life.

Most people don’t get strategic enough about their resolutions. Studies show that the majority of new year’s resolution-setters stick with their goals for only a precious few weeks before the gravity of the past sucks them back to their old selves.

One of the things I teach in my seminars and training programs is how to successfully create desired change (whether in leadership styles, sales skills, or health habits). Successful, long-lasting change can be exasperatingly difficult to achieve. There’s a lot of evidence showing why it’s so tough to adopt new work habits or lifestyles: powerful psychological and physiological forces enslave us to our ingrained habits.

So rather than blithely scribbling down a few vague concepts (make more money, spend more time with family and friends, lose 15 pounds), you need to make a plan. A good way to start is by asking yourself some important questions: Why do you really want to make this change? What are you going to give up in order to make change happen? How are you going to make time for it? How are you going to measure progress? Who are you going to ask for support?

Some people say that they can’t make changes right now because their schedules are so busy and their business (not to mention the world at large) is so unpredictable. I would argue precisely the opposite. In times of great pressure and uncertainty, you have to focus on the things you can control, and commit to personal transformations that maximize your energy and personal effectiveness.

Once you’ve created a smart strategy for change, the next step is to dive in and get to work. Blast away barriers, annihilate distractions, and take your work and life to the next level. As the poet Goethe said, “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it; boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”

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