How do I make my goals stick? I can’t believe I’m already saying this again, but Happy New Year! It’s 2018 — a new year with a new chance to develop better habits and define your goals! I’m really excited to announce a new, interactive series that will kick off next week: Our inaugural New Year’s Book Club! It’s no secret that leaders are readers. I’ve said it many times, and some of today’s greatest leaders will say the same thing. [bctt tweet="It’s no secret that leaders are readers. #ILIreads #ILIfinish" username="dukematlock"] Author and church leader Michael Hyatt says, “If you want to lead, you simply must read. It’s one of the surest ways to develop the qualities that will make you stand out and simultaneously equip you to lead as your influence grows.” That’s why my team is launching our very first New Year’s Book Club! Over the next five weeks, we’ll be reading through the book Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff. Here’s a summary of what the book is about:
According to studies, 92 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail. You’ve practically got a better shot at getting into Juilliard to become a ballerina than you do at finishing your goals.
For years, I thought my problem was that I didn’t try hard enough. So I started getting up earlier. I drank enough energy drinks to kill a horse. I hired a life coach and ate more superfoods. Nothing worked, although I did develop a pretty nice eyelid tremor from all the caffeine. It was like my eye was waving at you, very, very quickly.
Then, while leading a thirty-day online course to help people work on their goals, I learned something surprising: The most effective exercises were not those that pushed people to work harder. The ones that got people to the finish line did just the opposite—they took the pressure off.
Why? Because the sneakiest obstacle to meeting your goals is not laziness, but perfectionism. We’re our own worst critics, and if it looks like we’re not going to do something right, we prefer not to do it at all. That’s why we’re most likely to quit on day two, “the day after perfect”—when our results almost always underperform our aspirations.
The strategies in this book are counterintuitive and might feel like cheating. But they’re based on studies conducted by a university researcher with hundreds of participants.
If you’re tired of being a chronic starter and want to become a consistent finisher, you have two options: You can continue to beat yourself up and try harder, since this time that will work. Or you can give yourself the gift of done.
Are you ready to give yourself the gift of done in 2018? Join us for the next four weeks of our book club as we have a guided discussion of Jon’s book and apply it to our own personal and professional goals. Every week, we’ll be reading two chapters from the book and I’ll highlight my big takeaways and assign a weekly leadership challenge in response to what we’ve read. Feel free to go at your own pace. This should be a guilt-free experience! But I also want to challenge you to push yourself and push through your desire to quit. Choose to commit to your own success this year, starting with this series! If you’re interested in joining us, you can download the free reading plan and Challenge Worksheet below: [GET THE FREE READING PLAN AND WORKSHEET] You can also follow along on social media, where we’ll be posting our weekly challenges. Follow us on Instagram, or use/follow the hashtag #ILIreads and #ILIFinish. Here’s your checklist for the week:- Purchase Finish (or download the audiobook)
- Download the reading plan and Challenge Worksheet
- Read/listen to the Introduction and Chapter 1 of the book
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