Dutra Associates

Unleash Your Peak Potential

How Are You Doing on Those Goals? 5 Tips for Executing on Your New Year’s Resolutions

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Like many of us, you have most likely spent at least a little time in the last few weeks reflecting on last year and identifying goals for the new year. In some cases, you may realize that you have had the same goal on your list for multiple years. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been there. Recycled goals alone can dampen your energy for following through! Yet, there are ways to maximize the likelihood of your successful goal execution. Let’s take a look at a few key tips.

  1. Know Your “Motivation”
    What makes each goal important to you? Is it really your goal or perhaps someone else’s? How aligned is each goal with your values? What is motivating or driving you to include each goal on your list? How does each goal feel to you….is it something you feel you “have-to” do or something you “want-to” do? The more each goal is aligned with what you truly value and if you are positively motivated to achieve it, you greatly increase the likelihood that you will follow through. Look back to those goals that have appeared on your list for multiple years. How aligned are they? Perhaps they just need to drop off the list.
  2. Set Realistic Expectations
    One of the primary reasons that we don’t follow through is that we bite off more than we can chew. If the goal is to exercise for 30 minutes, 5 days per week and you currently don’t exercise at all, you’ve likely set yourself up for failure. What is a stepping stone toward that ideal goal that is a reasonable stretch from where you are now? Once that reasonable stretch has become your new normal, set a new stretch goal that brings you another step closer to your ideal. Before you know it, you will have successfully created that new ideal habit.
  3. Support Success
    What tools or resources do you need in place to keep your commitment to yourself? Are you someone who likes to socialize while working out? Then, enlist a friend to meet you at the gym or join a workout class. Do you like tangible evidence of your progress? If so, perhaps a device that counts your steps or tracks your level of activity will spur you on. How often do you notice yourself thinking self-sabotaging messages? Pay attention to what you tell yourself and quiet the nay-saying voice with positive words that support the results you are striving to achieve.
  4. Set Milestones
    Success isn’t only the final accomplishment of your ultimate goal. It is all the steps you take along the way that keep you moving in the right direction. As you set the realistic expectations discussed in tip #2, place a timeframe on when you’d like to be ready for the next stretch goal or the next step toward your overall goal. This keeps your momentum going and reinforces your progress.
  5. Celebrate
    Too often you breeze past your milestones and even the accomplishment of your overall goal with barely a moments pause to take in what you’ve done and celebrate success. Instead of giving yourself credit for sticking to your goal, you’re off thinking about the next goal. Take a moment to celebrate the wins, both big and small, along the way. It doesn’t have to be something expensive, time-consuming or elaborate. Perhaps you buy yourself a new book, or curl up on the couch to watch a movie, or go out dancing. Whatever it is, make sure it’s something that you find fun and that represents a pat on the back to you for a job well done.

What are you going to do today to reignite your commitment to your goals?

Note: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhoto.net

Where is the Whitespace in Your Day?

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I had the opportunity to be in attendance for a talk by Juliet Funt, who is the founder and owner of WhiteSpace® at Work, and found her to be especially inspiring. In a completely engaging and amusing way, she made the case for whitespace in our days. What exactly is whitespace?  As described by Juliet, it is a purposeful, freedom experience for the mind; an opportunity for the mind to dance, play and end up at unexpected junctures that serve us.  It is setting aside time and thought for which you have no specific plans.

Our typical workdays are comprised of “reactive busyness”.  This brings to mind notions of fire-fighting and problem fixing that, while giving us the illusion of getting things done, are really lots of activity without necessarily true productivity.  Juliet indicated that “we have no relationship with thoughtfulness as a key to success in the workplace”. What is missing, she indicated, is whitespace.  Pointing to benefits such as, developing more game changing ideas; increasing productivity, creativity and engagement; being more calm and present; connecting interpersonally; she suggests that we must “redistribute effort and excellence” to allow whitespace in our days.

To redistribute effort, consider letting go of some things.  We often hold on too hard for a variety of reasons.  Ask yourself: What can I let go of in my life – both personal and professional?

  • What baby steps can you take to stop responding as if each email and text is urgent?
  • Do you really need to attend every meeting you’re invited to?
  • Can you truly get your work done if you are in back to back meetings all day?

To redistribute excellence, it’s time to curb your perfectionistic tendencies.  Perfectionism is a real talent and we must make choices on where we will spend that talent.  Ask yourself: Where could good enough, be good enough?

So, where to begin?  Start small – manage your calendar to create whitespace; appreciate the forced whitespace that comes when stuck in a traffic jam. According to Juliet, if you’re aspiring to whitespace and give it value, you are ahead of 90% of others in the workplace. Be creative and design a little whitespace that works for you and watch your success grow!

Worry Not: Handling What Life Throws Your Way

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Change is inevitable – after all, nothing really stays the same.  But in today’s challenging times, it seems like we’re on “uncertainty” overload, never knowing what will happen from one moment to the next.

With uncertainty comes stress and confusion, and while most of us would be quick to say that we want less stress and more certainty in our lives, what we really want is less of a stress reaction to what life throws our way.

We can’t choose what happens to us – but we can choose our responses to the situations we encounter.  Let’s take a look at five different responses that people have to stressful situations. As you read, you may want to think of a recent stressful event or news that you may have received, and see what your reaction to that event can teach you about how you habitually respond.  You may have one type of response at work, and another at home, or you may react differently depending on who else is involved.

The first and all too common response to stressful events is to suffer and be a victim to it. People who respond this way don’t take action. Things happen TO them – and though they may complain and be generally miserable about it, they don’t take any steps to do anything. They allow life to control them, instead of the other way around. This way of responding is certainly not recommended, and eventually, it will take its toll on one’s physical and mental health.

The second type of response is to accept the situation. Someone with this response may say “so what,” or perhaps get some perspective on the situation by asking if it will matter in a year – or a week – or even in a day.

The third way to respond is to actually take steps to change the situation – taking action to bring it to resolution (or at least move toward resolution). This is a very powerful response, and one that many effective leaders employ.

The fourth way to respond is to avoid the situation. People responding this way make a decision not to get involved in a situation that they don’t see as concerning them, or upon which they can’t make an impact.

The fifth and final way that people generally respond to stress is to alter the experience of the situation. When we look at a situation differently, the experience itself changes. Changing perceptions is probably the most challenging of the responses, because we tend to be stuck in our own interpretations and assumptions about what’s happening, but it is also perhaps the most powerful of all.

It’s your world, and you can create it as you wish. Remember, what one person sees as stressful, another person barely notices, or sees as exciting and full of opportunity. How are you going to choose today?

Leadership: Inspiring and Motivating Yourself and Others

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As leaders, inspiring and motivating yourself and others is critical to creating transformational and sustainable results. Yet, what allows you to do this well and do it consistently?

Research has shown that how well you are able to lead is connected to your level of energy. Well, what exactly do we mean by “energy”? There are essentially two types of energy: Anabolic energy is building, constructive energy that allows leaders to build strong relationships with their teams, clients, colleagues, etc. Catabolic energy is destructive and repels success in relationships, business dealings, etc.

Recognizing and understanding the characteristics and impact of catabolic and anabolic leaders will allow you to choose the type of leader you want to be.

Let’s start off with looking at the overall style of the catabolic leader. This leader manages. If we look at the definition of “manage” we find that it means, “to handle, direct, govern, or control in action or use”, and “to dominate or influence”. So, catabolic leaders tell others what to do and how to do it. By maintaining control, others with whom this leader interacts are in a non-powerful position and as a result, probably aren’t particularly engaged in their work.

An anabolic leader, on the other hand, leads. Consulting our dictionary again, we find that “lead” means “to go before or with to show the way”, and “to guide in direction, course and action”. This sounds much more supportive and empowering and it is. The anabolic leader doesn’t control or push people, but instead, inspires and motivates through words, actions and personal example.

Anabolic leaders believe that everyone has their own answers and gifts that they bring to all aspects of their lives. Consequently, there is no need to tell people what to do.

In the coming weeks, as you interact with those around you, notice when you are leading and when you are managing and pay attention to the results.