Are you one of those people who always keeps your New Year’s resolutions? Or learns how to utilize the latest market research tools to better enhance your listing presentations? Or stays true to your marathon training program? If yes, then this piece is not for you.
This piece is for those of us who have a tough time staying motivated over the long haul so that we have a shot at achieving our long term goals. It’s hard to do, right? But because achieving our long term goals and actually figuring out how to utilize those tools and scripts to enhance our sales presentations requires hard work and sacrifice and the ability to be patient, we have to figure out how to consistently put in the training time required to actually cross the 26 mile finish line without simply giving up.
As humans, we’re wired to want what we want when we want it. We’re wired for immediate satisfaction and instant gratification. Here are some ways to adjust our instant gratification wiring so it can work in tandem with and for our long term goals.
- Always celebrate small wins no matter how small those wins are. Here’s an example of a small win…you’ve been working on learning how to use those MLS research tools or finish your pre-listing package…you haven’t learned how yet but…you haven’t smashed your computer with a sledge hammer yet either. This is a win…celebrate it. By doing so, you will have created your own system of instant gratification. You’ll feel better about yourself for not smashing your computer and chances are, you’ll come back to the task and an in tact computer tomorrow.
- Track your progress every day. Yesterday, you didn’t smash your computer; today you actually learned one aspect of the program. Write it all down. Who knows what you’ll do tomorrow. This tracking process helps keep you on track and allows you to pinpoint what works and what doesn’t.
- Learn from and use your failures/slip ups. Instead of punishing yourself, know that everyone fails, everyone backslides, everyone slips up…it’s human…learning from and using them are parts of the process of moving forward.
- Give yourself a pat on the back…every day…it’s likely that no one else is going to give you a pat on the back for not smashing your computer. It’s not everyone who has long term goals and who is actually shooting for those goals.
By the way, in case you were wondering, only 8% of us fulfill our New Year’s resolutions.
