Practice, Practice, Practice
My Mom made me take piano lessons. I hated doing it. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I was so thankful she made me do it. As a child I had to hear the constant command “Go practice your piano lessons”. As a kid, I hated sitting and being disciplined enough to go over my lessons. I wanted to be outside – doing anything but being in front of that white/black keyed monster.
Years later I was so very glad I had this skill. I am left handed; so, it greatly helped my eye and hand coordination. It also gave me some much needed skill with my right hand.
It is the same way with starting a new spiritual path, breaking habits or simply wanting to change areas in your life to allow for your own personal growth. Something new always requires practice. You can’t short-change the process. It doesn’t come quickly. Athletes will tell you that without constant practice no skill is ever honed to perfection. Gold medals are won by those who exceed the last record of speed, endurance and skill. Therefore successful habits are practiced, reviewed and tested.
Find an Accountability Partner
Allow me to explain the concept of an “accountability partner.” “An accountability partner is a person who coaches another person in terms of helping the other person keep a commitment.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountability_partner Simply, an accountability partner works both ways….you both help each other to stay accountable and committed to your goals.
There are many ways to get the best use from participating in being an accountability partner.
- You should have something in common with your partner, i.e. both have goals to reach and both are committed to holding the other accountable in reaching those goals.
- Set aside a mutually agreed upon time to talk. I highly recommend, if you schedule allows, to meet for a few minutes every day or at the least every other day.
- Set a minimum of 3 goals daily. The goals you set must be in line with gaining your overall purpose.
- Email or text a copy of your daily goals to your accountability partner.
- At the end of the week or first of each week, review how you did on your goals for the week. Discuss what worked, what didn’t work and make adjustments.
Accountability Partners are a vital part of your progressing forward on your goals and dreams.
Budget for A Coach
Nothing in this world is free. (or so we have been told). However I know for sure anything worth having is worth working toward. That is all we have talked about so far……creating a consistent process for reaching our dreams. In order to remain consistent in all of your desires, you must budget financially for your growth. I invested time and money in good training to enhance my skills in the areas I wanted to pursue. You may think you have no need for such training. Perhaps you don’t.
You can accumulate debt quickly by investing in the wrong programs. Be cautious about where you spend funds.
Have a tremendous amount of clarity around your vision and purpose. Knowing this will help you determine what training and/or coaching you need. I love training. I love learning. There are amazing people out there who have amazing programs. I strongly recommend them. All I am saying is don’t go into debt that you cannot pay off in a relatively short period of time.
Monitor Your Progress but Celebrate your Wins!
Our last step in this “consistency” journey is to always monitor your progress. Have a system you use to know where you started and where you are going. I journal every day and have the notes for my accountability partner. This helps me know how many accomplishments have occurred since starting the journey. I have learned through my personal journey it is necessary to celebrate your own successes. Often you are the only one who can. See change doesn’t always manifest on the outside. Change happens organically, inside our hearts. If you wait until someone congratulates you….you may be waiting for a while. You know, better than anyone else, the amazing hurdles you have overcome. Those hurdles are your trophies because you have succeeded when no one was watching. So, pat yourself on the back, buy yourself lunch, dance around the room and laugh out loud. You are pretty special!!
We have covered a total of 7 areas that will help you develop a consistent behavior toward achieving your vision and goals. I am sharing the personal principles that have helped me as I walked through my own personal transformation. I have a sincere desire to help others navigate this path in a thoughtful and life changing way. There is no other way to achieve your success except through commitment and CONSISTENCY in your journey.