Happy New Year! It’s 2021, and that means a lot of people are setting goals for this year. But did you know that most people don’t succeed in their new year resolutions? A lot of people want to eat healthier, learn to play an instrument, or write a book. But these are big things to do, and it gets hard after a while.
How does someone set goals for themself? If so many people don’t reach their goals, then why should I be any different? I took some time to learn about how to set goals and what it means to have a growth mindset.
Let’s get started!
What is a growth mindset? A mindset is how you think about things. This includes what you believe and how you view the world. Having a growth mindset means that you choose to believe that you can learn new things, and so can everyone else. Deciding to believe in growth opens the door to learning all kinds of things, and it keeps you motivated while you achieve your goals.
It’s not always easy to think this way, but with time and patience, you can use this skill to become anything you want to be. Think about tying your shoes. Once upon a time, you couldn’t do that, right? But if your mom or dad helps you and shows you how to do it, then you can tie your own shoes every day.
You can learn new things every day, and this means that you can achieve your goals, even if most other people don’t.The growth mindset can be incorporated into your business culture as well, where curiosity, strategic and thoughtful risk-taking, and continuous learning and growth are encouraged.
Fear can halt forward progress in its tracks, can promote unnecessary incrementalism, and lead to mediocre results. With a growth mindset, you’ll lean into fear, take calculated risks, and realize how much risk you can bear before a change in course is needed This is a business culture that sparks creativity and innovation in your team and elevates your company.
It could be applied to anything from the products and services you offer, to your marketing and customer engagement strategies, to your approach to training and developing staff. A growth mindset is a perfect enabler for improving results and achieving your business goals in 2021.We know we can learn new things and grow, but what do we want to learn next? What should our goals be? The best way to figure that out is to brainstorm!
Get out a bunch of magazines and construction paper, or just a notebook and a pencil. Cut out pictures of things that look cool and write down everything you can think of that you want to learn about. Where does snow come from? How do you say “Hello!” to someone from China? Make it your goal this year to find out.
Maybe you want to learn how to play the violin. Or how to ride a bike! You don’t have to set just one goal, and learning should never end. But you should make sure that the goals you settle on and make plans to achieve aren’t too much in too little time. You can plan to go to the moon, but it might take some time to get there!Brainstorming works for your business as well. Make yourself aware of the challenges and changes ahead in 2021. Online research, journals, and newsfeeds, looking at what other countries and markets, your competitors, partners, and vendors are doing can all be good sources for ideas.
You can determine what changes and challenges are expected and what they mean for the industry you’re in, the clients you serve and the potential new customers you’d like to serve, as well as the skill sets within your company.
Then think about what you should be working on to maintain or grow your business in 2021 and edit to identify those goals that are most likely to be implemented successfully and increase your bottom line or result in a positive impact. Change for the sake of change, or goals that aren’t achievable can be wasteful and morale-busting, but bold, stretch goals can bring fresh energy to your business.
Alright, so you want to learn to ride a bike. Now what? The best thing you can do is make a plan! First: who do you know that can teach you? Second: get out there and learn!
Every plan is different from the one before it. And they don’t always go exactly as you want. You probably won’t plan to run into the neighbor’s mailbox, but that could still happen. The important thing is to know that mistakes are okay, and they just mean you are learning.
Your plan should help you make sure that you start the learning process. You can write it out with your brainstorming ideas if you want and check off each step as you accomplish them. Also, it’s okay to make changes to your plan as you learn more!
First think big. By the end of your fiscal year, or in six months or a year–what do you want for your business? What major steps will it take to get them done? What needs to be done first, in the first 90 days, and what are the action steps and measure that it will take to get there? That’s your plan. You want nothing fancy, no spiral-bound document with photos, and no special place designated for it to collect dust on the shelf in your office.
- What do I want to accomplish in 6 months to a year?
- What three major steps do I need to do in the next 90 days to get there?
- What actions and tasks do I need to accomplish to take those major steps?
- Do I have the time, money, and talent necessary to achieve those steps?
- If not, what do I need to get the resources?
- Who can I partner with? What vendors would I need to engage to get this done?
As you research and refine your goals, strategies, and action steps, you may determine that you…
- Need more time to accomplish something, or
- You should reorder some of your actions, or
- You might find that now isn’t the right time for a particular goal and may need to push it out further, or
- You realize that now is the opportune time to achieve a particular goal and you may need to start working on it sooner than you thought.
Setting goals can be intimidating, but you are completely capable of setting goals and reaching them if you believe in yourself and set your mind to it.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It doesn’t mean you failed, just that your learning is continuing. And don’t be afraid to ask for help either!
In business, the point is to be intentional and purposeful in achieving results. An accidental victory or achievement by fluke is not nearly as satisfying as something that is planned out and earned, or success or victory for which you’ve repositioned yourself, strategically. Regardless of what people say, success is rarely achieved by pure luck. There was likely a mindset, a dream, and a state of readiness that helped you capitalize on good fortune.
Intentionality and purpose are outputs of a growth mindset. Brand positioning and awareness often result from some quality brainstorming and editing. Sustained high-quality performance and business growth are the products of solid planning.
Welcome to 2021! This year holds all kinds of new things to learn and do, new people to meet, and all kinds of growing up. With a growth mindset, you can head out into the world (the business world, too!) as a learning adventurer, with excitement and knowledge down every road!
CSD Marketing and Consulting is able to help you with growth mindset activities, brainstorming, and developing strategic and operational plans. To learn more, click below to contact one of our strategists today.
