If I asked you to write down the ONE problem getting in the way of your success, could you do it?
It can be hard to narrow the field down
to ONE specific problem because different situations present different
problems. In business, the ONE problem could show up in a variety of forms: If
my prices weren't so high, I’d have more sales. If I had more prospects, I’d be
able to exceed my quota. They show up in life too: If only I was thinner, I’m
sure I’d be happier. If I had gone to school for just one more year, I know I
could get a better job…. You get the idea.
Trying to solve multiple problems at
once is likely to result in a lot of stress and frustration, and very little
progress. A better approach is to decide which problem is most urgent and
pressing right now. Once identified, you can focus your time and energy on
coming up with a plan to resolve the situation.
It sounds like it should be easy
enough to do, so why don’t people do it?
·
Sometimes it’s easier to have a good
excuse for a problem than it is to take action and do something about it.
People expect less out of you when you have a really good excuse. Of course,
the down side of excuses is that people probably won’t have as much respect for
you—or your work.
·
Really good excuses make it easier for
people to ignore thoughts and desires about having or getting more out of their
job, or their life. If someone is not where they want to
be, they don’t believe it’s because of anything they have or haven’t done. Instead,
they blame a list of seemingly valid excuses for not being able to tackle the ONE
big problem standing between them and their success.
·
People don’t take the time to adequately
identify the problem. When they don’t, they are not able
to come up with an adequate solution. Instead, the problem becomes hidden
behind a multitude of excuses that slowly and steadily begin to wrap their way around
all of the other problems—even the ones that would have been easy to deal with.
So welcome to 2015. Is there ONE
business or life problem you want to work on solving to make this new year your
best year ever? Quite simply, it’s your choice. Either you decide to let
excuses stand between you and your success, or you come up with a plan for
stepping outside old and worn out comfort zones.
Identify your most pressing problem,
come up with a plan for solving it, write your plan down RIGHT NOW, and carry
it with you. Anytime you realize you’re about to start making excuses, reread your
plan, and for goodness sake, follow it!
Alan
Luoma is a Sales Coach with extensive experience in industrial sales, sales
management, and sales and product training. He holds key accounts with a
national sustainable packaging company, is a motivational speaker, and provides
sales training to individuals and groups. He is a member of the Hartford
Springfield Speakers Network. You can view his profile on LinkedIn,
or contact him at Luoma@snet.net
