The Plan ? Remix 2012 | The Salina Post

The Plan?Remix 2012?????????????????????????????????????????????

By Tom Wilbur??????

It?s a new year, following last year . . . and I?m guessing almost everything you resolved to follow through on and change at the start of 2012, has already tanked. Maybe you feel like you?re in a rut. I?ve heard the word ?rut? defined as a grave with the ends kicked out. So you?re stuck, and you want to do something about your Groundhog Day life? We?ll soon be half way into 2012, and you?ve made no productive or positive changes for the better? Read on, please.

Insanity has been defined as repeating the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. By repeating any processes, plans and ideas that have failed you before, your chances for successful change, are, well . . . limited?

Instead of worrying about those failed resolutions this year? how about formulating a real plan of things to consider for your life? Goals are rarely met by wishing and hoping that they will happen, so grab a blank legal pad and a Sharpie (my tools of the trade) and let?s explore things you can do to successfully make positive changes in your life. We?ll eliminate that ugly word ?resolutions? and we?ll just call this process ?The Plan?.

Use any or all of these ideas? as you consider adjustments you?d like to make to your life. I guarantee that if you adopt the changes most relevant to your situation, by the end of this year, you will be happier. Happier?because you took charge of things, and along the way?you participated in really living each day, and engaging in a strategy for self improvement:

1.????? You need to start by getting rid of ?stinkin? thinking.? Instead of looking at the day ahead as a hurdle to clear, why not adjust your attitude, and start to use the power associated with bringing a positive attitude to the table. Positive energy is a requirement for meaningful change. In order to make permanent changes in our lives, we must adjust how we face the moment. It?s time to develop that ?can-do? relationship with the morning, instead of the ?oh, God, here?s another day to battle? attitude. If you haven?t read ?The Power of Positive Thinking? by Norman Vincent Peale, it is full of timeless ideas on how to make that happen, and would be a great place to start the newly motivated you.

2.????? The Plan requires that you reduce your goals and direction to writing. People who are interested in change gravitate towards those things that they can see daily. When your list is finished, you?re going to tape this on your bathroom mirror, or on the refrigerator, or your computer, or someplace where you will look at it every day. This missive will be your guide for a while, and the more you see it, reflect on it, and take action towards meeting your goals, the quicker you?ll get there. You can move an entire mountain, using a teaspoon, but you have to start scooping sometime. It won?t move itself.? ?The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? by Stephen Covey is a great read on the process of changing habits.

3.????? You also need to let go of the problems of the past?they are no longer relevant, and can be a crutch towards failure. What has happened to you in the past pales in comparison to the opportunities that lie ahead. Each day is filled with potential, and you have just as much potential for success as anyone. It starts with effort and congruency?aligning your life with the things you are passionate about. Getting on with really living. If you commit to doing something you love and you?re good at it, you will never ?work? again?you?ll be taking it to the next level, because you love what you do. Passion and effort can overcome a lot of obstacles. I love the book ?The Road Less Traveled? which starts with these three simple words??Life is difficult??and goes on to explore ?self-actualization? as life?s highest purpose. The author, M. Scott Peck, speaks to living life?s highs and lows to their fullest, to better understand how you feel, and to take better control for one?s actions.

4.????? Make a list of those people with whom you?d like to have a closer relationship. It could a number anywhere from three to seven people. Put their name on your list. By doing so, you will gravitate towards thinking of ways to interact with them, and it will happen. More interaction means closer relationships. Begin to take action by bringing them into your circle? inviting them to lunch, or just hanging out. No more texts and answering machine friends. Spending real time with real people will create a real relationship.? It?s probable that there are some people you know, who drag you down like a boat anchor. It?s reasonable that your list include no longer associating with those who hold you back. Who you hang with? can make a difference. ?How To Win Friends and Influence People? by Dale Carnegie is a timeless classic on forming positive relationships, and a book that has influenced my life. I go back to it often.

5.????? What other target categories are going to make the list? Family? Finances? Faith? Career path? Where do your priorities lie? What changes do you feel will be most important to your happiness, and well-being? Let?s get them on paper, and then begin to prioritize them? into reasonable groups. Things you can make happen immediately. Things you can get done next month. Things you?ll move towards in the coming year. Unlike resolutions, if we don?t succeed with one or two of the things on our list, it?s not the end of the world. But there is something magic about getting goals on a written page, and setting a reasonable deadline to accomplish our tasks. You need an action plan for each goal. Do this, and I promise you will gravitate towards taking ownership, and positive changes will occur. ?See You At The Top? by Zig Ziglar is a classic book on setting goals, work, and desire.

6.????? Making changes to life requires that you reduce the level of FEAR you have associated with making a change. FEAR is an acronym for ?False Expectations Appearing Real.? It?s a fact that the majority of things we worry and fret about related to some anticipated problem ahead, never happen?and if the issue does occur, you probably couldn?t have done anything about it, anyway. So let?s drop the barriers, stop worrying ourselves to the point of being frozen where we are?you can do it. If you want to stop smoking?what are you afraid of? That you?ll get healthier? That you won?t have the strength of purpose to do it? Baloney. Stop, for the good of your health and those around you. Stop for your kids. Stop to save money. Recognize the level of harm you?re inflicting upon yourself, and beat it. Good health is a gift from above?something you should work hard to maintain. With each of these changes on your list, make a corresponding set of positive things that will happen when the goal is accomplished. Dwell upon seeing the end result of your actions, instead of the getting caught up in the minutiae. ?How to Stop Worrying and Start Living? is an excellent resource here.

7.????? Everyone needs time to think. In order to make reasonable changes in your life, you need to find fifteen minutes a day, for yourself, to review your list of targets. With the three to four hours of TV you watch each day, you can find 15 minutes. (Yes, you can.) No distractions. No excuses. Quiet time. This is your time to adjust, and think about what lies ahead. Time to make notes on people you need to call, or movement you need to make towards positive change. Time to consider resources that will be of value in your journey. Time to pray for a few minutes and thank God for your blessings and opportunities. Successful people I know always take time to think, reflect and listen. Life is not about using a ready, fire, aim approach?we all need a plan, and quieting yourself will provide clarity.? Might I suggest a Bible for this section?

8.????? ?Resources? are those people, things, businesses, vendors, tools, ideas that you can tap into? to help you with your journey. Successful people leverage their resources by identifying them, and leveraging them. For example, if you?re having trouble with financial issues, there are resources everywhere in Salina, to help you. Banks, savings institutions and credit counseling services exist here, and the people who work there want to be of service. Everybody can use a little outside advice on matters financial. If you?re having trouble with your marriage, a pastor or counselor can be a resource. Salina has qualified counselors, but they can?t help you unless you make an appointment. You get the drift. Remember books? Yeah, those things you spent a little time with in high school or college. Books have immense value, and interestingly enough, Salina has its very own public library, where an entire universe of knowledge is open to you, at no charge. Successful people never stop the learning process. ?The Magic of Thinking Big? by David Schwatrz is a great book on helping you to develop ideas for living life to the max.

9.????? Procrastination is the primary killer in making positive changes. It?s too easy to rationalize and find something that occupies (wastes) your time, or something that you enjoy doing, instead of prioritizing, diving in and making the right amount of effort to create the right results. With one hour of study per day, you could speak conversational Spanish in a year. With one hour a day of reading, you could learn the success techniques of most of the business leaders in the world. In one hour a day of online training, you could master a suite of software applications to improve your skills sets and connect to the world in an improved way. At night and on weekends, you could start a side business that would significantly improve your income. (I had a couple take out a thirty year home loan with us once?and they had the fortitude and the mindset to go out and secure three jobs each, and paid their home mortgage off? in full? in three short years.)? ?Maximum Achievement? is an excellent book on time management, by author and speaker, Brian Tracy.

10.? The bottom line is that it?s time to take more accountability for your life, and for your actions, and win. No more excuses. No more living a life that requires you to follow someone else?s idea for what your life should be. There?s no more latitude to allow the failures of the past to dictate where you?re going to go today, and tomorrow. It?s time to lead your own life, and make the right choices for you. And to go where your heart, your head, and your soul know is the right direction?for you.? That may require that you make some tough choices. And with all goals, there will be disappointments when things don?t happen exactly as planned? on your path to being happy again. And that?s ok?it won?t be a surprise to you, because you know that a few little stumbles still mean that you?ve moving forward. Try the book ?Awaken the Giant Within? by Anthony Robbins here.

Imagine yourself as a guided missile?you have a new set of targets on the horizon. Do you think a missile goes from point A to point B without a series of course corrections and adjustments in its flight? There?s no way. The wind blows, the earth spins, and the environment around it changes . . . and a missile has to continue to make corrections to get to where it wants to go. Life is like that, too.

We all have adjustments to make, and I hope you?ll consider making a part of your plan getting right spiritually. God can help take your burdens away and free you to be who you want to be?when you have an ongoing relationship with Him. You can offload all those chips on your shoulder, and those built up resentments inside. Any anger that may be deep will be softened by a love like you?ve never experienced. When you have faith in Him, you can accomplish anything?because God is a great partner, and a loving presence, to all who accept his outstretched arms. If you?ve never read it, ?The Purpose Driven Life? by Rick Warren speaks to the fact that we all have a divine purpose, according to God?s plan, and outlines steps to take to support and fulfill yours.

I hope these ideas and suggested resources are of value on your path towards doing great things. Only you can define what success means to you personally, and that?s where this process begins, migrates, and evolves, towards a more fulfilling life.

Make Your Plan. Go get ?em. Carpe diem.

tw

Tom Wilbur is President/CEO of BANK VI in Salina and a regular contributor to the Salina Post. His work has been published in newspapers, magazines and other formats across the nation. He is a graduate of the University of Kansas?and has been involved in leadership in the banking industry, in the church, and with non-profit organizations? for most of his life. He is involved in music worship at The NINE:50 service each Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church. You may reach him at rockchalktw@hotmail.com

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