Planning and Strategy: The Secret to Win Battles and Reach Success
The general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand.
—Sun Tzu, The Art of War
As a Chinese military strategist and general, Sun Tzu knew what it took to win a fight. His experience led him to conclude that the person who wins a fight is the one that thinks and plans ahead (makes many calculations), while those that lose, do so because they didn’t plan. Those that succeed in achieving victory are those that take the time to look ahead and formulate a plan “of attack”.
Define what success looks like
To achieve success, you first need to define what success means to you. What is the main objective you want to achieve? If you're in school, success may be to become an A student or a track and field athlete that wins races. At work, it could be to become a highly-valued employee for the company. In the community, it could be to be someone who is known for their public service. Perhaps your desire is to become a healthy eater or help others get on the road to good health. The important thing is to define what it is that you want and write it down.
Formulate your plan
Once you’ve determined what it is you want to achieve, you need a plan. What is it going to take to gain success? Do some brainstorming and create a list of things you need to do that will help you reach your main objective. These are the specific things you need to do in order to achieve success.
Some example items on your list to become a better student could include:
Attend class every day
Complete assignments
Go to tutoring if grades dip below 70%
Reduce babysitting hours
Score at least 90% on all final exams
To become a valued employee, your list could include:
Learn how to be the best ____________
Take on an extra projects when able
Get a positive performance review from the manager
Make it to work on time everyday
Become a collaborative team member
To help others live a healthy lifestyle, your list might include:
Finish high school
Enroll in college
Get an associate’s degree
Study to become a personal trainer
Learn about nutrition
Earn a certification
Your goals can be long-term or short-term. They depend on you and what you want to achieve.
Document Your Plan
Once you have your list, decide what items make the most sense to go after. Perhaps you want to become a vlogger but don’t have money for a new camera yet. There could be another way to do it in the meantime. Figure out what is practical to do now and what things you can do later, as your circumstances change.
Along with your definition of success, write down your final list of to-dos. These will become the steps in your plan.
Work Out a Timeline
Working out a timeline for achieving your goals is critical. You need to give yourself a deadline for getting things done. You also need to make sure you give yourself realistic deadlines that are attainable.
As you learn how long things take, it is okay to adjust your plan. Maybe graduating from college will take a year longer than you thought or, you had to take a break from studying nursing for a personal reason. It is okay to adjust your plan based on what you learn along the way.
Execute Like a Boss
A major factor in success is taking personal accountability for what you do and how you behave. It’s not something we talk about often but it’s a skill that impacts your life’s direction. There are different ways that accountability is applied in our lives. For the purpose of reaching your goal to achieve success, personal accountability to yourself means keeping yourself in check so that you progress forward. It also means avoiding excuses, blaming others for a lack of progress, and avoiding negative self-talk.
To help with this process, find someone who wants to see you succeed and ask them to be an accountability partner. Share your goals and intentions with your accountability partner and ask them to check-in with you on a regular basis.
Doing this keeps you focused on your goal and provides an added push to keep going. It is also an easy way to set regular intervals for tracking your progress. This helps you see what you’ve achieved so far and adds motivation to keep going!
That being stated, you don’t need to be a general or a master strategist to win at life. You only need to take a few simple steps to figure out what will get you to your goal. Give yourself a timeframe to do it and then go for it. That’s all. You can achieve the success you’ve always wanted and you might even surprise some people around you!
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