Focus on Habits for 2021

Welcome to 2021!  I am sure you have been bombarded with emails, podcasts, sermons, etc., about setting goals and making your New Year’s Resolutions.  But if you are like me, you might have decided to rest some the first week of January and just celebrate that you made it through 2020.  I did listen to a podcast, read some emails, see a video, and listen to a sermon or two on the topic, but I did not put much thought into it.

It is now the second week of January, and I have realized that it is time to look back at my goals for 2020, reflect on what I accomplished and make a plan for 2021!

So, here I am bringing you yet another email/blog about setting your Goals and Vision for 2021, but here is the twist I heard from Bob Negen with WhizBang! Training recently…

Focus on the HABITS you want to create in your life that will get you, your life, and your business to the goals you want to achieve. 

There is no one right way to create goals, but you must set them.  You need a plan or a strategy to move forward in the right direction for you, especially as we enter another year of uncertainty.  Your goals do not have to be BIG; they just have to help you move forward with a sustainable change in 2021.

So, what is it you want in 2021?  STOP and really think about that!

Think about the type of person you want to be.  The better you are as a person, the better positioned you are to run the kind of business you want to have.  Personal Development will lead to Business Development.

Are there any Professional Habits you need to cultivate to serve you and your business this year to reach your goals?  What management skill or marketing skill or sales skill do you want to commit to working on this year?  Do you need to show more gratitude to your staff?  Are you committed to supporting, coaching, and developing your staff? Do you need better time management or organizational skills?  Do you need to commit to creating and documenting your store training guide and policies?

Are there any habits you want to instill into the culture of your business?  Things you want your associates to embrace to bring the best level of service to your customers.  This could be adhering to the Opening and Closing checklist every day, committing to using the 6 steps to the Perfect Purchase with every customer, or staying consistent with your merchandising plan, etc.

Here is the exercise I took myself through.  Try it for yourself.  Just answer these questions.

(In all transparency, I will share my goals and habits with you.  Please hold me accountable and check in with me at any time to see how I am doing.  It is important to share your goals with others for accountability.  So here I go….)

What do I want in 2021: to lose weight and be healthy, to go camping in my motorhome as often as I can, to serve my customers better, to love people better, and focus on myself less.

Then I formatted those WANTS into GOALS for 2021…

1. to fit back into all my clothes in my closet (I did gain the COVID 19 pounds in 2020).
2. to focus LESS on what my business does and MORE on how my business will give my customers what they want/need so I can serve them better.
3. to practice Love and Joy more in my life (I find that anytime I lose my Joy, it is when I put myself at the center of my world and when I am full of Joy is when I put the LORD there.)
4. Go on a camping trip at least 8 times this year.

So, how will I achieve these goals?  By developing the daily/weekly/monthly HABITS that will get me there.

HABITS to Create/Develop in 2021:

1. Change my diet to cut back and make better choices when it comes to processed foods, “white foods” like sugar, wheat, potatoes, and more, and alcohol.
2. Commit to working out at least 3 times a week (preferred methods – classes at the gym and hiking)
3. Each month read a great business book or a professional development book or learn a new technology that will help me serve my customers better.
4. Daily Quiet Time & Journaling (at least 5 times a week) – Keep the LORD central in my life and my focus by being in His Word almost daily.  Recite and/or read 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 at least 3 times a week and insert my name in the place of the word Love.
5. Proactively plan my calendar in advance and work ahead to be able to take those trips.  With proper planning it will work out; if I just wait to see if there is a good time, it will never happen.

“When you create HABITS, the HABITS lead to results.”

Bob Negen, WhizBang! Training

Now it is your turn. 

Have you thought about what you WANT in 2021?  Is it less stress, more time off, more energy, more organization in your business and/or life, and less clutter, more financial savings…what is it that you want this year?

Maybe the HABITs you need to create/develop are…

• Meditation – to decrease stress and anxiety.
• Exercise – to increase your energy and feel better.
• Become a Lifelong Learner – to read and study to learn more about all things.
• Create a morning routine – to add structure and organization to your day.
• Manage your money more wisely – to create more financial stability.

Creating good habits will guide your focus and help you sustain the momentum you need to achieve your goals.  You will have to be intentional about creating and following these habits.  So, perhaps your first habit to work on is setting your intentions and following through.  You may also have to practice the art of “purposeful abandonment” or the ability to say “NO.”  Do not just continue to do things just because you have always done them that way.  Peter Drucker said, “In order to grow, a business must have a systematic policy to get rid of the outgrown, the obsolete, and unproductive.”  What do you need to stop doing?

The bottom line is, you cannot achieve goals if you are not taking action.  So, stop and think about what you want this year.  Then formulate that into goals for the year and then discern the habits you need to create in your life to get you to those goals.

We have been talking about the goals that you want to set for yourself for this year.  In the next article, we will discuss creating a long-term vision for your life and/or business.  A Vision is a detailed, written description of what success will look like at some specific time in the future.

Read Now: How to Create a Vision for Your Life and Business

I will tell you how using the WhizBang! Retail “Creating a Vision” plan has worked in my life and helped my husband and me to succeed.  Our Vision has changed over the last decade but staying focused on the future we want has guided us through many stages and struggles in our life.

Focus right now on what you want to do this year, and then next, we will focus on your Vision for the next 3 to 5 years or even possibly 10 years.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail, click here to sign up for a FREE 20-minute Strategy Session with me and we can dig deeper into your specific goals and vision.