5 Secrets of Rapid Change

The secret to Rapid Change #1: Clarify Your Direction Often, part of the problem that people encounter when trying to make a change is that they’re not 100% clear about exactly what it is that they want to change. What is your exact goal? What does it look like? Do you want to “lose weight”, or do you want to lose 10 pounds a month until you are down to a certain weight? Do you want to “start a business”, or create an online business that brings in $100,000 annually? Do you want to get signed to your dream school, or do you want to sign your full-tuition scholarship offer to San Diego State on February 3rd, 2024? It’s tougher, (and a lot less fun!), to track your successes when the goal is really unclear. So, grab a pen right now and clarify your direction…what is it that you really want to change or create in your life? 

Get specific. You can get even more crystal clear on your goals using the SMART goal process – check out your goal and make sure it’s: Specific Measurable Action-oriented Realistic Time-oriented. As you reach some of your specific, clear goals, or continue to get even more clarity and focus, you might end up refining your goals and adding new ones. You’ll be achieving goals with much more ease just by getting clear on exactly what your goal is. One of the great things that happen as you do this, is that this process frees up your energy and focus to set and achieve even bigger goals as you go!

The secret to Rapid Change #2: Strategize Your Actions Now that you are crystal clear on exactly what you want to achieve, you’ll get there easily when you create a step-by-step plan. Without a strategy, going for your goal is kind of like trying to get from New York to Los Angeles without a map – murky, confusing, and frustrating. With a map, it’s clear, easy, and fun – take this turn, then this one, then the next. Makes sense, right?

So again, grab that pen and paper, and sketch out a plan for getting to your goal. What do you need to do first? What are some things you might want to try that will help you? If your goal is to lose 10 pounds this month, your strategy might include first joining Weight Watchers and then getting an exercise buddy. Or if your goal is to get is to become a college athlete you could begin your college applications, then contact a coach or admission counselor, and then prepare your summer workout routine.

If you get stuck, you could sit back and consider the goal you have. If you could break your goal into three main stages, what would those three stages be? Strategizing your actions makes it manageable, enjoyable, and simple to move forward, step by step on your goals. As you achieve each step, you build momentum to keep cruising forward effortlessly on any and all of your goals.

The secret to Rapid Change #3: Upgrade Your Skills If you’ve had trouble achieving your goals in the past, it might simply be because you need to acquire or brush up on some key skills for your goal. For example, if you keep getting stuck when trying to start a business, it might just be that you need to build some solid marketing skills, and then you’ll be ready to hit it out of the park. Stuck in your dating game? Might be time to read that book on the secrets of flirting.

Stop right now and make a list of the skills that are needed to achieve your particular goal. As you take a look, you might see that you’re strong in some areas, but that you could definitely use support in some others. Are there some areas where could you use a skills upgrade? How might you get started on upgrading those skills? Once you have the necessary skills in place, feeling frustrated and stuck will melt away. Your skills will propel you forward into success!

The secret to Rapid Change #4: Optimize Your Environment Have you ever noticed how great you feel after spending time in your favorite place, or with your favorite people? Our environment is a huge factor in our success. I know, for example, that I am enthusiastic, focused, and motivated after spending time with other successful coaches who are as excited about helping people create amazing results as I am. And, on the flip side, it’s pretty tough to create powerful changes in your life when you’re in an environment that doesn’t support you. If you’re trying to lose weight, but you have a freezer full of Ben and Jerry’s, well, losing weight will be a huge struggle. If you quit buying Ben and Jerry’s, you’re already a whole lot closer to being automatically set up for success than you were before.

A few things to consider when optimizing your environment: Take a look at the people you surround yourself with. Do they support, motivate, and inspire you, or do they bring you down? What can you do to more consistently be in environments where you’re surrounded by people that support you and inspire you toward success? What could you add into your environment to make success easy, fun, and inevitable? If you hate going to bars to meet people, signing up for a program like match.com might be the perfect thing to add into your environment to set you up for relationship success. What could you take out of your environment that is detracting from your ability to achieve success with ease and joy? If you’re trying to start a business, but your workspace is so loaded with clutter that it takes you an hour to find a space to get down to work, well, that’s not so supportive. Get rid of the clutter and watch your business soar! Make a list of things you could add into your environment to support you, and things you could take away that would make you more successful.

The secret to Rapid Change #5: Master Your Psychology Putting any one of the secrets I’ve shared so far to work in your life will make a huge difference for you, without a doubt. And, with that said, this secret might just be the most powerful one of all. Sometimes, no matter what you do to create a change, something underneath it all can still hold you back. It’s completely normal to encounter fears, doubts, and limiting beliefs when you’re going for your goals. There are a lot of great ways to work with these psychological factors so they no longer have any power over you and your success.

Number one is simply to become aware of them – to really notice how a certain doubt creeps up every time you consider taking the next step, for example. Knowledge is power. Once you start to bring these processes out of hiding and into the light of your awareness, you can work with them, and release them! In my coaching programs, I offer my clients a lot of powerful strategies for mastering their psychology once and for all. Having someone support you through the process of releasing fears, doubts, and limiting beliefs that have been holding you back makes a huge difference. In fact, hiring a coach was one of the single most important steps I took to help me master my own psychology and go for my goals. In the meantime, you can support yourself by becoming aware of the “inner game” issues that creep up and threaten to hold you back. I’ll be emailing you again soon to see how you’re doing with putting these 5 secrets to work in your life, and to see if you have any questions or if I can support you in any way. You absolutely deserve a happy, successful life. Start now!