Einstein once defined insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Whenever you want to see a different result, a positive change, an improvement in your performance or realization of your goals… you have to do something different from whatever you are currently doing!
A lot of people complain about their situation, whether it’s about work, their relationship or achieving a goal. Think about a goal which you have been wanting to achieve, while you experienced no or limited success. Then, answer the following questions by writing them down on a piece of paper:
- What is your goal? Try to describe it in one sentence for the sake of clarity towards yourself.
- What have you been doing to achieve this goal so far?
- Why do you feel or think you haven’t been able to reach your goal?
- How can you revise your strategy? What can you do differently moving forward? For example, look at the people who have been successful in achieving the same goal. What did they do? Often, the same actions lead to the same results! Can you put more effort in your existing steps? Any new things you can try out?
- Carry out this new strategy you have designed.
- Review it a few weeks or months from now to measure its effectiveness. If the changes in results are limited, then repeat steps 1-5 as you review your strategy. If you haven’t been able to get the results you want, it just means that the strategy you have been adopting is not on-point. Keep changing it until you finally achieve the results you want!
Part of my job is to run the highly popular website of the Eurovision Song Contest, which attracts millions of people every year. By frequently looking into the site’s statistics, actively ask for feedback and look at other successful websites, we continuously try to improve the website. Sometimes that requires very small changes, such as a different font or a slightly different color. Sometimes, it requires to adapt our strategy. But every small and big change helps us to reach more people and to strengthen the brand! Life is not much different!
Photo by zoostory, blog inspired by Celestine Chua
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A Just-WOW quote by Einstein!!
True, the routine things – anything you are doing repratedly, day to day – tend to put you in a sort of a trance state: you don’t really think what you are doing, what for, and, most dangerous, how long have you been doing it – surprised, however, why you are still at the same position. Thanks God if there’s somebody or something that pushes you to stop. And when you do, you are stunned: ‘What am I actually doing?.. Have I been sleeping all this time?!..’
So it’s worth changing something from time to time – not only to achieve different results, but also just not to be lulled to sleep by the routine actions. You may feel comfortable where you are now, and repeating the same maintains your achievements. But this is where life stops, ’cause life is where there’s growth and development.
And gosh, how true it is for human relations! This explains troubles of so many families… Day by day they find themselves in same situations, every time stepping on the same rake, getting frustrated, until they’ve made each other’s life unbearable, or until it occurs to one of them to step out of the box. Then, hopefully, he/she comes up with a bright idea that something should be changed…
Personally, I’ve been thinking over this for a long time regarding my acting practice. I play a part. Same text every time. And it’s my 2nd performance. Then 10th. Then 20th… And the trick is, I HAVE TO make it sound new, every turn being the first one. So every time I try to think: what does it mean for me now? Good, what else? What would I like to say today?..
And thank you for putting these 6 steps together. Having the whole chain it’s easy to see in which ring you’ve made a mistake. Sometimes it is the very first one: you just haven’t stated the goal clearly. Sometimes it’s the second: you haven’t actually been doing anything to achieve it. And so on…
And finally, linking this to another your post, I’d like to add that sometimes we can’t imagine how DRAMATICALLY different things may be if we take a step ahead. Or aside. Just a tiny move can be enough for a leap to your goal – and maybe much more, something you haven’t even dreamed of!! And even if this step is wrong, and you will have to revise and change your stretegy again, this will still be a precious experience, which will definitely make your life richer, or just fun ;)
Fantastic post! I know first hand that changing what you’re doing is the ONLY way to get different results in your life. Great advice for working on achieving a goal too.