Focus Your Energy and Flow...5 Strategies for 4th Quarter Success

September is my favorite month, yet I blinked and blew past it. Here we are in October. Yes, I am a bit sad we turned a corner in summer; however, some of the year’s best days are coming up. The fall, to me, is like getting a fresh reset, unlike January when everyone sets their minds toward a new year, new beginnings, and resolutions that last maybe three weeks, then go out the window, causing self-esteem to wane. Sound familiar?

Please don’t feel too bad. According to one commonly cited statistic, 80 percent of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions by February. People get derailed for several reasons. It’s either too big of a stretch goal—like going cold turkey and giving up all carbs to lose weight when they haven’t understood how carbs work in their overall diet—or like how many people head to the gym and vigorously exercise when they haven’t been for a while, so their body is shocked.

You are setting yourself up for failure if you don’t have a solid plan for your year-end 2022 goals and haven’t been making any changes.

The point I want to make is not about losing weight or exercising to be fit (though, both are great goals), but about your focus on creating a lasting lifestyle change with whatever your goal is at any time of the year.

Here are my five strategies for success:

• Determine what you want. Get 100 percent clear.
  • Focus is the end all, be all of any decision. Get absolutely clear about what you want and how you will get there.
    
    
• Have a clear vision of your outcome. What is the end result?
  • Having a clear vision of your outcome and consistently focusing on it will change your behavior, giving you the thrust you need to take small actions daily that will lead to significant results.
    
    
• Have a compelling why. What is the emotion of how it would feel? See it, breathe it, and own it.
  • Once you have your vision, you need the fuel, that high test octane, to keep that engine running, and that is “the meaning of why” you want to achieve this goal. What is the emotion, the driving force you gave it, and what will it mean if you don’t move forward?
    
    
• What would it mean if you didn’t achieve this? What is your pain?
  • How much pain will you suffer if you don’t lose that weight or have the body you desire? If your why is not a compelling drive, a true “must,” then you will not move forward, and it will be a wish or a hope.
    
    
• What would it mean to you if you did achieve this? What is your pleasure?
  • I admit I’ve had many starts and stops with goals. For the ones that were a must, like my most recent authored book, Secrets of a Serial Networker, I found the resources to move forward to success. When I start with a clear vision, a compelling emotional drive to know my why, and a determined focus and plan to get there, there is no stopping me. My energy then goes into that goal to achieve a desired success.
    
    

Take advantage of resources. There are always people to help, and having an accountability structure to help you sustain change is also important.

Consistently focus on manifesting your goal. Again, see it, breathe it, and own it. If it is a true must, nothing will stop you. How committed are you?

This formula has a lot of meaning for me because everything I have ever been truly successful at has been based on this strategy I adopted in my early corporate years.

Focus your energy and flow. Good luck -- you’ve got this!

Anne Garland is an author, serial networker, and success strategist who has worked for years in the corporate sector. She is an award-winning achiever in several arenas. She is a graduate of Tony Robbins Institute and the Silva Method. All her life experiences have given her a foundation for success for more than four decades.

Anne’s most recent book, Secrets of a Serial Networker: Connect, Serve, and Attract More Clients is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local bookstore.