Immediate value

Take a look back at your values from last week – the things that are important to you. Is there one in which you could make a real practical difference right now? Something you could choose to do differently in the next 15 minutes. A choice which could contribute in some tangible way to making progress on that value.

If so, the green track is ‘just do it’. Make a choice right now to do something differently that will make an impact.

Threshold of Pride

Review your values from last week, and consider which you feel is the most pressing for you to build upon in the coming year. The one you would most like to have made a difference in over the next 12 months.

Then imagine yourself at the end of the coming year, reflecting back on your direction and progress on this value, and the position you want to be in at the end. What is your threshold of pride? What needs to have been achieved for you to begin to feel proud of what you did?

Write up your answer, and stick it somewhere that you will reflect on it at the beginning of each day. Commit to refreshing your mind with the direction you feel right now each time you see this definition.

That’s it. Do this religiously and you may be suprised as to the progress you make. Our subconscious behaves teleologically, it becomes more alert to things we deliberately focus on. Many people first become aware of this phenomena when they hear a ‘new’ word for the first time, and have someone explain it to them. They are then surprised by the coincidence of hearing it again shortly after. Except it is not coincidence. It is just that our subconscious is more sensitised to picking it up.

In respect of our goals, this same effect makes us more likely to spot related opportunities. We become what we think most about.

Systemic Values

The blue track can help you make more progress than you might imagine. And yet, if your values really are something so important to you that you desire to make sacrifices for them? Then you might prefer to ensure those sacrifices come together in an efficient and effective plan of action.

The red track is about applying the direction provided by the blue track in a more comprehensive and systematic manner. To describe success around more of your most important values. And to develop a personal action plan to deliver that.

Begin with extending your threshold(s) of pride to encompass all of your values as you have defined them. Then work out the ‘what, when, where and how’ of getting there. If what you need to do is obvious then it is just a matter of determining your will and your schedule. But if it is more complex you might find the pack resources useful.