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7 simple ways to create certainty

As challenging as these times may be, most of us still have ultimate control over our lives.The problem is that right now, it doesn’t feel like it.

You may feel tired and completely thrown off course by the events of this year.

Maybe you’re even confused about your purpose, your business, your life.
Or perhaps you’re just sick of feeling stuck and unable to plan for the future.

That’s okay. These feelings are a normal human reaction to all of the upheaval we’ve experienced. You are definitely not alone in these feelings!

However, if you’re sick of feeling so uncertain, then keep reading because I’d like to share with you 7 simple ways that will help you feel more certain.

Because the truth is, you can create certainty for yourself on a daily basis. 

You may not be able to change what’s going on out there in the world but you can most certainly rule your own world!

You can use these strategies to easily increase the feeling of certainty in your life.

Many of them are small things that you can start right now, today. The great things is that you don’t have to do all 7, but of course, the more you can incorporate into your routine, the better.

Strategy 1: Have a plan
When we don’t have a plan, we drift with the wind and more significantly we don’t feel in control of our destiny. You can make a plan in uncertain times. Yes, you can. You may need to review it in a few month’s time to see if it’s still relevant, but you still should make the plan now.

Strategy 2: Make decisions
Again, one quick way to start to feel more in control of your world is to make decisions. Allowing yourself to stay in indecision because you’re “not sure what will happen” or “don’t have enough information” does not serve you. It will create more uncertainty. Even if you don’t want to decide something now, you can still decide to get further information and review it in a month with a view to making the decision then. Do you get where I’m going here? It prevents you from going back and forth over the “will I or won’t I” that makes us all feel so powerless. You can instead decide to forget about it for a month, get more info and then decide. Or, decide now.

Strategy 3: Take action- small things count
The idea is to think small here. Can you clean out one drawer in your home or office? Can you do one task on your to-do list? Taking small actions in a positive direction make a big difference. In particular de-cluttering will give you a sense of control over your environment. Just remember to do small bits at a time to avoid overwhelm.

Strategy 4: Strengths and gratitude
Gratitude helps you to look for what you already have and to acknowledge it. This helps you to see that you do actually have what you need. Focusing on this at least once a day and seeking out your personal strengths will assist in keeping the uncertainty at bay.

Strategy 5: Daily practices to anchor you
What habits or rituals have an anchoring effect for you? These are the practices that rejuvinate you or keep you focused and feeling in control or confident and secure. Is it keeping up an exercise routine? Chanting, prayers, meditation? Patting your cat? Whatever restores you and gives you a sense of being in-control and secure can become an anchor for you on a daily basis.

Strategy 6: Boundaries – fear mongering and media
Use your boundaries. Don’t allow in too much uncertainty from other people(family included) and the news/social media. Stay informed but don’t let them tell you how uncertain or worried you must feel. Limit your daily intake of news to avoid feelings of overwhelm and anxiety driven by what is mostly bad news.

Strategy 7: Re-frame the situationYes it’s been a challenging year and even at times quite a confronting one. Things seem to be shifting and life is not what it was 6 months ago. Sure, but try asking yourself these questions to re-frame this current situation:
What are some good things that have come out of this?
If there was an opportunity right now for me, what might it be?
What have I learnt about my real values in the last few months?

These strategies work and they will make a difference right away, so do start as soon as you can. It’s best to try implementing one or two for a week and maintain consistency with those first. Then you can add more as you like.

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How to stay on track in 2019

So how are you feeling about your goals for 2019?

Probably pretty damn good, I would expect. Like most of us you’ve likely had a nice break and are now full of energy and enthusiasm for what lies ahead. At this stage, your goals seem exciting and very doable. Sure, they will require discipline and your focused attention, but you’re feeling confident. 

This is the first stage of goal setting. You are confident and energised. You are 100% committed to your goals. This first stage is what I call the fun part of goal setting. It’s the easy part. While your resources are at an all-time high, it’s kind of easy to be 100% committed to your goals. However, it’s in the next stage of goal setting that the challenge really sets in. 

The second stage of goal setting is where it gets harder and where everyone falls off the wagon! I mean everyone! And only some get back on. Think about New Years Resolutions. How many people do you know that make resolutions? How many follow through and get the results they want? Yes, that’s right, not so many!

In this second phase of goal setting the journey gets rough and the resources you had in phase 1 are limited. The enthusiasm and energy you had before at the beginning will not get you through the second phase of achieving your goals.

It’s not a failing on your part. It’s all about the system-or lack of- that sets you up to fail. We are all humans and we all struggle with similar things when it comes to achieving goals or resolutions. We seem to think if we decide to do something different, that’s enough. 

To get through phase 2 of goal achievement and making it to the promised land (realising your goal) you’re going to need some tools! If everyone falls off and only some get back on track, then what are those“some people” doing differently than the rest?

They have a system to get them back on track ASAP! You see it’s not a short sprint, but more of a journey of consistency. To stay consistent, you need a system that keeps you… consistent. The best and easiest way to do this is to implement a tracking system. 
Your goals require you to do certain things regularly, to modify your behaviours.  You need to define the behaviours you need to change or implement. Then, put them into a tracking system. Then you check it daily and review and re-set it each week.

I’ve created you a personal Tracking Tool to get you started, so click here to download!

It’s simple but profoundly effective. It only takes a few  minutes a day but will deliver huge amounts of value as you move further through the year. A personal tracking table will help you to: 
👍 see what your actual results are
👍 monitor what is/isn’t working
👍 indicate to you immediately when you have fallen off track
👍 and help you get back on track quickly

This is a simple and easy solution that will deliver you big results. I use it myself to help keep my core behaviours on-track. It’s easily one of the best tools I’ve ever implemented and I know it will help you to achieve what you want for 2019!
Click here to download the personal tracking tool.

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Change can be hard: Here’s how to manage it

If  change is a natural part of our lives then why is it sometimes so hard?

Anyone who has set and attempted to achieve goals knows all  about this. Anyone who ha  tried to break a habit, create a  new  habit,  adjust  to  living  in  a  new  city  or without  someone  you  love…  you know  the challenges  of  change.

Change  is  everywhere  really.  You  just  have  to  look  at  technology  itself  and  how  that  alone  has changed  our  lives  even  just  within  the  last  decade.  There  are  so  many  new  experiences, conveniences  and new  ways  to  connect.  Change  out  there  in  the  world,  with  cool  new  gadgets,  is kind  of  fun  and  exciting. But  change  within  our  own  lives  and  within  ourselves?  It’s often not so fun and exciting for us.

I mean just think about the last time you moved house or changed jobs. Do you have fond memories of that experience? Or did it feel chaotic at best? The  nature  of  change  is  confronting and  when  it’s  on  our own doorstep messing with our routine, our work or our  relationship, it can be a  tough  challenge.

So  why  is  it  so  challenging  for  us?

Well, there are  a few key reasons why we often struggle with change:
Change  alters  our  world
Change  interrupts  how  we  normally  go  about  things  and  how  we  cope with  things  in  the  world. We’re kind  of  knocked  off  our  usual  track  and  it’s,  well,  bumpy.
Change  affects  our  notion  of  who  we  are
Change  challenges  our  beliefs  and  our  closely  held  values. Our  very  concept  of  who  we  are  is therefore  called  into  question.
Change  can  trigger  anxiety
By  its  very  nature  change  will  cause  anxiety  in  most  of  us  but  specifically  it  is  the  effect of  change  on  our  relationships  and  ties  with  others  that  causes  us  to  feel  anxious.
Change  signifies  an  end
Change  is  a  shift-  from  the  old  to  the  new.  It  is  both  a  beginning  and  an  end. Depending  on  the  nature  of  change  this  can  cause  a  sense  of  loss.

So essentially change is a “disruption” of sorts. The well-known, comfortable space becomes unknown and foreign. As I’ve explained previously, our human brains naturally resist change because anything unknown is seen as a threat to our survival. The altering of our world, a shift in our identity scares the heck out of our brains and it therefore sends us some stress (thanks for that brain). The point is, being human means change is going to be challenging with our own brains resisting it.

Here’s how to deal with it:
Accept that it will be challenging. Know that because change is hard, that does NOT mean there’s something wrong with you. Everyone is challenged by change!
Accept that adjusting to change may take a while. I know we all want to just flip a switch and be completely committed to our new habits or adjusted in our new work role. But realistically it takes time. Give yourself time.
Accept that you will fall off the wagon. Change is not a straight line from one way of being to another. If you graphed it it’d probably be a zigzag. You cope and adjust to the new quite well for a while, then you “regress” back to the old way. Again, this is a normal part of the process. Noone decides to change and does it in one stride! You’ll go back and forth for some time, but if you keep hanging on and moving forward, it will happen!
Have your own back. If change is so challenging then it’s almost like you need a friend to help you on the way. Well, you do.  It’s you who needs to be your best friend in this process. (Although having a  coach or friend encouraging you helps). This does not involve berating yourself when you misstep or letting yourself do whatever your mood dictates. It’s about recognizing what you have achieved and patting yourself on the back. And when you get off track, you just say to yourself “that’s alright, I’ll do better tomorrow” and keep moving forward. Bottom line: Don’t be so hard on yourself.

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Improve your results with tracking

My favourite personal development tool is very powerful tool. It is also simple and easy-to-use. This tool can keep me on track more consistently than anything else that I have ever tried. I have created new habits and maintained them because of this wonderful tool. I think you too will love this tool when you start to use it.

What am talking about? I’m talking about tracking. My favourite personal development tool is tracking. It literally change my life and can do the same for you. If you want to create consistency, maintain changes and feel a sense of accomplishment, then you need to use tracking. Here’s how to get started:

1. Make a list of the tasks and behaviours that are pivotal to your success both personally and professionally.

Examples: exercise, posting your blog, making sales calls, eating salad, getting a new client etc.

2. Now decide on your Top 3 tasks and behaviours from that list. These are the absolute most important things that need to be done consistently for you to be at your best.

3. Using the Tracking Table I’ve supplied here, enter your top 3 in the “behaviours & actions” column. For each task or behaviour, decide on your goal for the week. ie. how many times do you want to complete this task or behaviour? Record the number in the goal column. If you want to set a specific day for each of your top 3, enter a “o” for each of those days to allocate the day you plan to that item. This is optional, you don’t have to set a day if you don’t want to.

 Example:

BEHAVIOUR/ ACTION
M  
T  
W  
TH 
F  
S  
SU 
TOTAL 
GOAL 
NET 
mindset management
/
/
/
/
/
/
6
7
-1
exercise
/
/
/
/
4
4
0
sales calls
/
/
/
/
/
5
7
-2
write blog post
/
/
/
3
3
0

4. Track your progress: View the table each day and place a tick or a cross in column for that day based on whether you completed that item or not.

5. At the end of the week, review your week’s worth of tracking and tally your ticks in “actual” column for each task or behaviour. Then subtract the goal number from your actual number and enter it into the “net” column.
Example: If you goal was to make 4 sales calls in the week and you actually did 2, then subtract the goal number from the actual: 2(actual)-4(goal)=-2. Your net is -2

6. Look at your results for the week. How did you go? Are you in the negative or positive numbers? What should you focus on next week?

Like I said, tracking has changed my life. It’s truly a powerful tool. Try it out, even just for a week and see what happens.