Dear Doctor:
Did I blink and miss the month of January? Time seems to be flying by so rapidly, it’s not too early for a quick reality check and, if necessary, some course correction.
Check in on your first quarter goals – did January miss, meet or exceed your expectations, and do you need to reset your goals or time frames? Whether you underperformed or excelled, determine if you need to adjust your plans accordingly.
If you are on target, congratulations, your systems and your application of your energies are working well for you. If not, here are a few pointers to get yourself on track.
First, make sure your goals are clearly defined, so you know what you’re aiming at. Vague words like “more,” “enough,” or “a lot” may feel good when you say them, but they don’t give your mind the clarity required to pursue these objectives with maximum intensity. Rather, use language like “double my new patient attraction by the end of March” or “increase by five visits per day within six weeks,” and give your mind the focus it needs to put all of your resources to work for you. The mind is target-oriented, Dr. Markson reminds us, so give yourself an obvious target to shoot for.
Next, honestly assess your efforts – did you invest sufficiently in achieving your goals? Did you show up big? Did you take the actions demanded from your goal structure, or didn’t you? Were the plans clear enough to evaluate your follow-through? Do you have an accurate way of measuring your level of engagement? Do you see areas you can increase your commitment, to cause better results? Can you use your perceptions of pleasure and pain to motivate yourself to act more consistently and powerfully?
Some of you are probably thinking, yeah, these pointers would be helpful, if I actually had any goals set – well, just because you didn’t write your goals at the best time to do it, doesn’t mean you should blow it off entirely – get in the game! It’s simple – think about where you are and where you’d like to be by when, write it down, and you’ll have taken your first step. Better late than never! Do it right now!
The most successful people use goals to guide their use of their resources to greater and more meaningful accomplishment. Hold yourself to a high standard of goal-setting and self-management, and keep checking and improving on your plans and actions, and you’ll have more to show for your investment of time, energy and capital.
Dennis Perman, DC
for The Masters Circle
PS. “The Master Plan 2005” seminar includes a 98 page workbook filled with tools for building and running a successful practice – to register, or for more info on the two remaining performances, please call 800-451-4514 or go to themasterscircle.com.
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