What are the 3 things you need to give yourself the best shot at accomplishing your goals? Here is what author Jon Acuff suggests:

Clarity – A focused sense of what you’re trying to accomplish.

Consistency – The grind of stacking small wins on top of small wins, day after day.

Community – Leaning on friends when you don’t feel like hustling.

So if the first thing to do is find clarity, the obvious question is do you know what you want? Do you really know? Then write it down! Without getting all mystical on you, let me just tell you there is something powerful about writing it down. One great thing to do after getting a concise clear goal written down (or typed up!) is to place it some place where you will see it everyday. Then look at it regularly.

Then we are ready for the magic which is really no magic at all. But to those on the outside, at the end of your achieved goal, they think that you somehow tapped into some Jedi power. That power is consistency. Consistency is a decision. It moves past feelings. This is why it is called the “grind” many a times. You will find if you make a decision and stick to it…no matter how small it is…it will gain greater traction over time.

Humans are interesting creatures. Even when we say we are doing something for ourselves, we all know how helpful encouragement is from another human being. This is why having some kind of positive community around is a good and powerful strategy to crush our goals. Do you want to get in better shape? Do you want to tackle that project? Then give yourself a proverbial “pat on the back” throughout the whole process and recruit or find a new or old friend or group of people to help.

So there you have it. As you take on the year ahead, may you and I focus on clarity, consistency and finding a community to help us achieve our goals this year.