Nine things successful people do differently

1. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • Actions • Plan • Obstacles • Plan “if then” moments for actions & distractions • Honest & regular feedback • Focus on job completion • Be positive, but realistic • Realize it will not be easy • Embrace the new and unfamiliar • Allow yourself to screw up • Commit to LT goals and persist • Change is possible • Challenge yourself, a bit more each time • Avoid temptations • Don’t kid yourself • Plan for behavior replacement • Avoid distraction and grab opportunities before they slip through your fingers. • Decide in advance when and where you will take each action to reach your goal. • Make a list of “if this happens, then I will do this” related to your goals, being as specific as possible. • Include if-then related to scheduling a self-monitoring of your progress towards goal. • Honestly and regularly monitor progress made or not made – daily, weekly, etc. depending on goal duration. • Keep self-monitoring to a minimum if you are learning something totally new. • Focus on what’s left, not what has been done. • Avoid premature sense of accomplishment. Avoid confusion and slack from seeking “progress balance” among “other” important goals. • Don’t focus on goals that prove to you and others that you are already good somewhere. • Develop and acquire new skills. It will reduce your anxiety when facing challenges and improve your overall ability to reach goals. • Think in terms of progress, not in terms of perfection. There is a learning curve and it takes some time. • Know exactly what you want to achieve. • Think about the specific actions you need to take to reach your goal. • Remove the possibility of settling for “good enough”. • Get specific about the obstacles in your way. • Picture yourself and imagine the feeling of achieving your goal. • Go back and forth between targets and obstacles. • Success does not happen to you. You make it happen. • Don’t visualize success; visualize the steps you will take to make success happen. • Engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve your goal, without underestimating difficulties. • Do no believe you will succeed easily. Effort, careful planning, persistence and the right strategies will take you there. • Your ability is malleable. It changes with effort and experience. All you need is courage and resolve. • Don’t give up in the face of difficulty. Try harder. • Believe you can succeed. It is critical to examine your beliefs, and when necessary, challenge them. • If you think you are not good at something, tell yourself you are not good at it… YET! • Take on a challenge that requires you to do something you’d honestly rather not do. • Start with one activity that fits with your life and your goals. Something that requires to override an impulse or desire. Make a plan for how you will deal with troubles and temptations when they occur. • When under temptation, think about people you know who have a lot of self-control. • Don’t put yourself in harm’s way, exposing yourself to temptations that you assume you will be able to handle. • Avoid pursuing two goals that require a lot of self-control. • Think about when you are most likely to feel vulnerable and make a plan to keep yourself at harm’s way. • Think about the behaviors that sabotage your success. Do not focus on them in terms “I will not do this”. Rather, replace them with other behaviors. • Plan how you will replace counter-productive behaviors with more constructive, profitable ones. www.straligence.com⎥ Inspired by the works of Heidi Grant Halvorson, 9 things successful people do differently, Harvard Business School Publishing, 2011

2. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

3. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

4. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

5. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

6. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

7. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

8. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

9. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10. Nine things successful people do differently Getspecific Seize the moment to act on your goals Know exactly how far you have left to go Be a realistic optimist Focus on getting better, rather than being good Havegrit Build your willpower muscle Don’ttempt fate Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9