The Myth of “Good Luck”

Setting goals works.  Writing them down works even better.  And accountability insures that you stay on track until you’ve reached your goal.This builds self-respect and overcomes habits that come from unconscious beliefs such as “I don’t deserve to achieve”, “I’d rather procrastinate than test myself, because I’m afraid of failure or I’m afraid of success”, or even worse : I believe “I can’t”.

What about if we call this simply: Markers of Unwillingness. 

Go ahead ask yourself:

Am I willing to set a goal, create an action plan, and ask for accountability?  

If so, you are on your way to something new.

No matter what,  if you stick to this plan, you will learn something NEW about yourself.

Research on goal-setting done by Gail Matthews at Dominican University, California, showed that when we write down their goals, create action plans, and track their progress, we accomplish more goals than when we just think about them.

Matthews also learned that three important things for successful goal-setting are:

1. accountability
2. commitment
3. writing down goals.

More  Info about setting goals  is the acronym SMART that stands for:

• S = Specific:  Describe your goal clearly and concisely.  Don’t be vague or wishy washy about what you want.

• M = Measureable:  Develop an easy way to measure results. For example you can’t measure kindness, but you can measure:  I will say something uplifting to each person I encounter today and for the next 21 days.  Not only is this measureable, it is also a great way to instill a new habit.

• A = Attainable: Make sure your goal and action plan are manageable and fit  your skills, resources, and interests.

• R = Relevant:  Is your goal important to you? WHY?  Is it something you value? Ask yourself: “why am I doing this”?

• T = Timeline:  A goal without a timeline is just a dream.  A timeline, with milestones and an end date, will keep you accountable to yourself (and  in addition, a friend, mentor, or coach, can also help keep you accountable and focused).  i.e. “Break your goal into small tasks and set a deadline for each task.  It’s not so overwhelming when you do it in small steps.”                                                                                               (Maureen Zappala, “New Year, New Tune”)

I have noticed that sometimes when I set a goal, other priorites start bubbling up, unexpectedly, and I put my goal on hold!  Often the other priorities soon  fizzle out and I am left without making the progress on my original goal that I had hoped for.  Getting distracted is the biggest Maya there is.  Don’t be deceived by it!

Recognize that I don’t have to wait for someone else to give me the okay.  I just have to say “OKAY” to  myself, every day to activate my inner resources.

Presently, I have a short check list of 3 items  I check at the end of the day.  It shows me how I’m doing and where to put more energy…Don’t get discouraged or make yourself wrong. Just adjust!

A  successful friend once said to me, “I don’t believe in LUCK.  I’ve worked hard and paid my dues, it hasn’t been a matter of luck.”  She has found that others look at her and where she’s at in life and say  “you’re lucky”.  She feels that by calling it luck is to discount all the hours of planning, implementing, and effort-making that  have gone into creating her smiling success story!!!  There is so much behind the scenes (underground) work that a successful person does  every day!

Reaching goals requires clarity; the kind of clarity that comes from writing down your goals and checking in with them.

Start now…write it down-make it happen!

On some level, we all know that success is more than good luck; it requires what most of us would call good old determination!.

Writing down your goals and tracking your progress is definitely a way to mobilize all aspects of one’s inner and outer worlds and to take loving dominion over the thoughts, words, and actions that will make you or break you.

I won’t wish you “Good Luck”, but “Good Determination”!

Start NOW!