How are your New Year’s resolutions going? If you’re like most people, you’ve created some great goals for 2018, but you may need a little extra motivation to keep them up.
Entrepreneur, life coach and The School of Greatness podcast host Lewis Howes is dedicated to helping others live their best lives, and he has some great words of wisdom to keep you motivated to make the changes you’d like to see this year.
In a recent School of Greatness episode (no. 584, “Great Years Don’t Happen All on Their Own”), Howes outlined eight places where growth and visionary goal setting can really make a difference. Think about these eight areas in your own life: Where would you like to see yourself next year when it comes to these areas? What do you need to do, right now, to get there?
1. Physical and Emotional Health
Howes mentions doing something uncomfortable every day, either for your mental or physical well-being, so that you can enjoy long-term health in both areas. It’s common to make a New Year’s resolution about physical health – whether that’s losing weight, working out more or getting more sleep – but what kind of progress could you make with your emotional health if you used the same incremental dedication?
Similarly, how does your organization help your employees pursue physical and emotional health? It’s important to demonstrate to your employees that you value their wellness, whether through competitive health insurance options, health and wellness fairs, discounted gym memberships or even luncheons with speakers on relevant topics. Your employees’ health affects their work, so don’t you want that impact to be positive?
2. Relationships
What relationships do you value? Are you investing in them as much as you’d like? They relate directly to your emotional well-being! If you’d like to build more meaningful relationships, reflect on the ways you connect best with others and create more opportunities in your days to do just that. Consider implementing mentorship programs within your company that can help your employees develop the relationships they’ll need to succeed.
3. Finances
Speaking of investing, have you made plans to improve your financial health this year? There is no better time than today to start putting your money to work for your future goals. If you’ve already made headway here, the beginning of the year is a perfect time to step back, re-evaluate priorities and ensure you’re on the right track!
On a companywide level, investing in financial literacy for your workforce can help you improve retention, especially with millennial employees. This could include education on your company’s retirement plans, luncheons on financial topics like taxes or budgeting, or even offering financial counseling as part of your employer assistance program.
4. Clarity for your vision
Howes talks about two important parts of your vision: strategy and scheduling. The best-laid plans won’t do you any good if you don’t find time in your schedule to actually carry them out. If it’s important to you, get it on your calendar!
5. Growth mindset
I love this one! It’s important to be open to learning new things always. How else will you grow? Keep an open mind, be curious and make sure you’re learning things that move you toward your goal.
Ensure your organization offers opportunities for your employees to stretch themselves professionally. Training and development should be an ongoing, continual process. What tools are in place to ensure that your co-workers continue to grow?
6. Build your team
As motivational speaker Jim Rohn once said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Do your team members build you up? Do they help each other find success? Consider finding a mentor, if you don’t already have one. Where can you find coaching to help you improve in your job and your life? The people in your life matter because they influence who you are. Choose wisely.
7. Play and adventure
Working hard is great, but it’s important to take time to relax and do things that are fun and exciting! Not only will that help you come back to work refreshed and ready to keep succeeding, but it also will help you be a more well-rounded person by having things that are important to you outside of work.
8. Winning
At Paycom, “winning” is one of our core values. I love that for Howes, winning isn’t just about yourself – it’s about how you can help other people win, too: your company, your customers and your community. How can you work toward success in others? Answering that question could change your life.
To hear more from Lewis Howes on this topic, register to attend our free webinar on Jan. 30, The 8 Keys to Winning in Business and Life.