Happy New Year! We love this time of year because it is all about what we do best – focusing on what will make life more rewarding.
We know resolution making doesn’t sound as fun as sipping champagne, but what if you did them both at the same time while you wait for the big ball to drop? After all, resolutions don’t have to be a solitary event. In fact, it’s best to have someone on your side holding you accountable and helping you celebrate your progress.
So, get 2014 off to a productive start by gathering friends and family together for a resolution making New Years Eve party.
Make Your ONE Thing Part of the New Years Festivities
Making goals is great, but deciding what you’re going to do to reach those goals is just as important. Getting to your goals is all about having the right focus on the ONE Thing that will make the greatest impact. Finding your ONE Thing during the New Years Eve festivities is as simple as knowing the right questions to ask. Now let’s have some fun putting together a 2014 action plan!
Getting it Down on “Paper”
First make sure everyone has a way of recording their resolutions. Old reliable pen and paper will do just fine, but you can cut down on a lot of writing by using the My One Thing tool.
The 7 Areas of Life
Your life isn’t lumped together in one bucket so your resolutions, goals and ONE Thing shouldn’t be either. Explain that in this activity everyone will be taking a hard look at seven areas of life that matter most. These are:
- Spiritual Life
- Physical Health
- Personal Life
- Key Relationships
- Job
- Business
- Financial Life
What do you want to accomplish in each area? Everyone should come up with one goal for each of the seven buckets. Now let’s dig down deeper.
Focus on the Focusing Question
What’s the ONE Thing you resolve to focus on this year to accomplish each goal? To find the right answers you have to ask the right questions. Luckily all you need is one question to find your ONE Thing in all seven areas. The Focusing Question is a powerful decision-making tool that will point you in the right direction and reveal what action needs to be taken.
The Focusing Question
What’s the ONE Thing I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
Once everyone has the seven areas and their goals for each on paper (or opened on their My ONE Thing accounts), have them write the Focusing Question down. This is their compass that will point them towards the actions they need to take in 2014.
The Focusing Question can easily be modified to apply to each bucket and within a specific time frame. Since you’re focusing on the coming year, modify the question to ask, “What’s the ONE Thing I can do this year such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” Now add in your goal, and you’ve got a focused Focusing Question. For example, let’s assume your Physical Health goal is to quit smoking. The focusing question would then be, “What’s the ONE Thing I can do to quit smoking this year such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
In the example the New Years resolution has morphed from ‘quit smoking’ to ‘start wearing a nicotine patch’ or ‘chew nicotine gum rather than smoking’. Now instead of simply stating a goal you want to reach this coming year, you’re resolved to take action to get it done.
Finish with Establishing Accountability
The final step is to find an accountability partner. Lots of studies have shown that accountability greatly improves your chances of reaching a goal, including one from Dominican University of California that found people with accountability partners were 33% more successful.
Have everyone pair up and commit to keeping each other accountable for the year. The point is that everyone should have someone they can turn to when they are losing steam, facing a setback or making progress.
Congratulations, your New Years resolutions are off to a strong start and it isn’t even 2014 yet. All that’s left to do is raise your glass and make a toast to the productive year you and your accountability partners will have together. Cheers!
Original Source: http://www.the1thing.com/applying-the-one-thing/whats-your-one-thing-in-2014