So you have your goal. What now?

According to the University of Scranton, only 8% of people actually achieve their New Year's goals. How is that possible if we all have the best intentions to get what we want? And what makes this narrow group of successful people achieve their goals?

System of habits?

As James Clear states in his?#1?New York Times?bestseller Atomic Habits, it's not the goal that makes us successful. It is the system of our daily habits.?

Imagine you want to run a marathon by the end of the year. Can you prepare yourself overnight? No chance. Meanwhile, if you were able to improve by 1% each day during the entire year, you will be 37 times better at running than you were at the beginning of the year. So what you need to achieve your goal is building a system of continuous, minor improvements.?

Not only by running every day but also by waking up earlier, eating healthier, drinking more water, learning how to manage your energy etc. All this is possible thanks to the small decisions and choices you make every day. You need to adapt your habits to your vision. Whenever you lose direction, ask yourself what the runner would do in your place. Would he sit on the couch eating pizza or rather put his shoes on and go for training? Would he drink Coke every day, or would he switch to water?

Build your new identity

All these little improvements will build your new identity and transform you into a runner. Soon, you'll probably start buying new clothes and gadgets to measure your performance. Once you become a runner in your mind, your new habits will become natural. You will be closer and closer to achieving your objectives. Why? Because your vision will respond to your identity, your plan will work, and you will prove to yourself that you can.?

Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become. James Clear

Here is the story

One of my clients, working for a big political organisation, was dissatisfied with his current life. Steve went out from the pandemic weakened, lacking energy and motivation. He was eating junk food, wasting time on social media, waking up late, and isolating himself socially. He forgot the order and discipline of his previous life. He got stuck. What seemed comfortable and relaxing at the beginning of the pandemic turned into dissatisfaction and frustration caused by the lack of purpose.

Need for change and vision

Steve knew something must change, but he couldn't move on. We started working together.

First, he needed a clear vision of where he wanted to be in a few months. We looked at his personal values, interests and his unique skills. As the coaching journey progressed, he recalled his forgotten dreams and understood that what he wanted to do in the future was to write. He dreamed about having an independent job as a journalist and writer while travelling around the world.

Development plan and a system of improvements

Since he visualised himself as a traveller and a journalist, he gained incredible energy and motivation to act. Day by day, and following a precise development plan designed with my support, he started building a system of new habits.

He was waking up earlier and doing a press review while eating breakfast. While still working full-time, he began to see his tasks from a new journalistic perspective. He built a new habit of making notes each time he felt inspired. He created his own blog, attended press events to meet interesting people, built his new network and started working with publishers. His favourite free time activity was designing the map of his future travels. He joined travellers' social groups to learn new things and find inspiration. He built his travel budget and started savings.?

Step by step, he created his new journalistic identity, writing daily articles and interviewing interesting people. After a year, Steve decided to quit his current job, terminate the apartment and go on a trip to the Far East. Now he feels liberated, happy and fulfilled. He found his place in the world.?

This shift was possible because he changed the whole system of his habits and created a new identity.

Start with little improvements

The key is not your engagement in achieving the goal but in building the system that will take you there. It doesn't matter if you want to run a marathon, become a journalist or start a business. Think about how to improve the system of your daily habits and start making choices aligned with your vision.

And moreover, enjoy your journey!

Every day of improving and learning new habits is already a success. You grow your potential step by step, not making big jumps. See and appreciate your growth. Your life is here and now, not in the future!