Success is not for Christmas

Like most people my life had a lot of room for improvement. I was unhappy with my work, home life, how people perceived me, just about everything.

Like most people I struggled against these problems, ranted and railed about what was wrong, what was unfair and how difficult it was to make any progress. Every quarter my company forced me to go through an appraisal of my work and progress. Each quarter this analysis served only to annoy more.

Despite the benefit of a good college education and caring parents and friends, no one had ever told me how to plan effectively. How to determine what I really wanted, how to discover when my work plans were clashing with my home life.

I think for most people planning is something they do once a year for a New Years resolution. It never occurred to me that success planning was something on-going. That needed focus and adjustment if it was ever going to bear fruits - until I came across the NLP outcome method.

Step 1

The first step to any effective plan is to find out what you want. If you consider how long we spend buying a car or a house surely determining what we want in our life deserves a little time. Allow yourself free reign and enjoy all of the possibilities.

(If you find it difficult to imagine a better future for yourself, or if you find that doubts and fear of failure tend to crowd into your thoughts, we will deal with this in another essay.)

Step 2

The second step is to start creating a path between what you want and where you are. Consider that your goals achievable. If other people have achieved similar goals then you have proof that it is possible to make your dreams a reality.

Step 3

The third step is to consider your area of control or influence. This allows you to focus on what you can do. It also brings to attention what you can’t do.

Step 4

Recognising what you can and cannot do is the fourth step. This allows you to plan for where you need help or need to gather greater expertise or influence.

Step 5

Now consider what are the costs of attaining your goal. This is the fifth step and helps you to balance your time and priorities.

Step 6

At the sixth step, now that your plans have started taking a solid realistic shape consider the resource you have to bring to bear to each goal. Don’t limit yourself or write yourself off otherwise that is just letting fear taking control again. Consider your time, skills, experience, and available resources, such as the skills of friends and family.

Step 7

The final step may seem trivial but is often an eye opener. Ask yourself if you would accept your outcome if your could have it all now. Many people work hard to save for retirement only to find it was the work in moving towards it that they enjoyed more than the money they gained. This final consideration will help sharpen your focus on your outcome and make more real for you now.

This process, of course, doesn’t guarantee success and happiness. However it’s certainly a smart way of living, working and planning. While I have yet to achieve many of my goals I am definitely far further along than I used to be - and I’m enjoying the journey.

Richard Donovan

Dublin NLP Practitioner Programme '98

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