Would you like to know how to improve in all areas of your life? The first thing to do is to clarify some aspects with yourself.
Last update: May 09, 2020
To improve in any area, ie at school, at work or in personal life, emphasis must be placed on "before" rather than "during". You would never jump into a swimming pool without knowing if it is full, would you? Maybe not even without knowing what temperature the water is ... Well, you have to act in the same way with the projects to be successful.
When you make any change, take on a difficult task or start a whole new project, the first thing to do is not to take action, otherwise you risk throwing yourself into an empty pool. On the contrary, you will have to ask yourself some important questions. They will serve to understand your starting point, your goal and how to achieve it. Only in this way, therefore, can you improve the results.
Reflecting before taking any steps will help you have a solid understanding of situations. This is advice that may seem obvious and even trivial. Yet, pausing to investigate your ideas, motivations and doubts is the best way to chart the path to guaranteed success.
“A good question has no answer. It is not a bolt to be closed in one place, but a seed to be planted so that it can produce other seeds in the hope of filling the landscape of ideas with green. "
John Ciardi
Improve in any area with 7 questions
1. Why am I doing this?
It is important to understand the reason that motivates and hides behind every action. Whether it's a goal, a task, a new habit or a project, why you're doing something should be the first question to ask yourself.
It is particularly important because understanding the reason for one's actions can become the engine that stimulates the achievement of the result (the reason becomes “motivating”). In this way, every time you find yourself facing an obstacle or want to back out, you will have the right motivation to continue and win.
“Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask themselves better questions and, as a result, get better answers. "
Anthony robbins
2. Improve in any area: what result do I want to achieve?
Without knowing the result you want to achieve, you will not be able to plan how to achieve it. Identify what you are looking for and want, clearly and clearly. Starting from this, every tactic, every strategy, will practically arise by itself.
In general, defined and tangible goals are much more successful than vaguely formulated ones. Knowing how to prioritize will allow you to overcome obstacles one by one and improve results.
3. When do I want to make it happen?
You need to know when you intend to reach or complete the project and all the intermediate stages or milestones, whether it is a medium or long term project. This will help you plan it better and stay focused.
Now, if your goal (final or partial) depends on many factors, it is very likely that the temporary term cannot be met absolutely. But at least, this calculation will help you measure your progress and outline the times you have been able to set.
4. What are the possible obstacles?
Finding obstacles in your way is normal. And this can happen both personally and professionally. However, difficulties can be overcome more easily if you know and have had the time, and the ability, to prepare adequate countermeasures in advance.
But it is not always possible to predict them, since many problems often come suddenly. At least, however, you can try to anticipate any setbacks, especially those that arise from objective factors. By avoiding these pitfalls, you will be able to proceed swiftly towards your goals.
5. What resources do I have at my disposal?
Be aware of the amount and type of resources needed and if you have the right ones. We refer to skills, time, money, people involved ...
Be honest with yourself. This will allow you to seriously evaluate all the real resources (temporary and financial) as well as your skills. Beyond that, never underestimate the responsibility or involvement of others, direct or indirect. Even if it is a personal project.
6. How important is this project or task?
The attention and effort you are about to devote depends on the importance of the goal or project. Ask yourself what priority it has over other tasks and analyze to what extent achieving it will produce results, even on everything else.
You should also take this opportunity to analyze its real advantage and whether it is really worth investing so much in terms of cognitive and material resources to achieve it. Maybe it would be better to start a different project. If not, being aware of the great importance and priority role it plays for you will increase your motivation.
7. What can I do to be more effective and improve in any area?
The last question that will allow you to improve in any area concerns the ability to develop strategies that allow you to be more efficient and productive. Raising the level and quality of your work, with the help of useful and effective tools and the use of other personal skills, will allow you to tap into success.
Knowing how to manage time will also be very helpful. To do this, you'll need to delegate tasks, prioritize what's most important, plan effectively, and avoid multitasking, but that's not all.
To achieve this, think about which elements of your entire strategy you can improve, starting today. As you come up with a plan, the answers will be more and more specific and will be of great help in improving any outcome.
“Neither the problem nor the question are knowledge, on the contrary they are acknowledgments of ignorance, but they open the space to knowledge, pushing man beyond what he knows. Intelligence is therefore not the ability to solve problems, but, above all, the ability to raise problems. That is, to invent research projects. "
Jose A. Marina
