I’ve said it. All your favorite “Boss Babes” have said it. It’s the first step to “manifesting” and “creating the life we want.” We have to write the goals down. We have to map out the vision. No dream is too big and no idea is too small. Get everything on paper so you can see what you need to do. Then there’s the to-do list. Break the goals down to tasks and write them out. Can you see it? Is the vision clear?
I am the Queen of writing down goals and writing down plans and jotting down ideas. Many of years I purchased planners only to find myself writing in them for a month, maybe two, and eventually stashing them on a shelf somewhere or in a box. In times of reflection and clearing my space I stumble upon several journals, planners and notebooks. I reminisce on all the things I said I would do and all the plans I’ve had. Plans that never really leaped off the page and into real life. You see, the step that comes after writing the vision tends to get lost. Sometimes we mistake mapping out plans and writing out goals for the actual work. Ya vision board is cute and your goals are for sure attainable but there’s this little concept called “execution” that’s very much lacking in a lot of folks plans.... including mine for a while.
See, on the other side of fear and our comfort zone is the place where execution and doing the work resides. Right in that little groove between writing your goals and achieving your goals is this lofty space called “doing the work,” and as my Pastor would say, I’ve stopped by on my way to Heaven to let you know that there is absolutely no shortcut for doing the work. Anything worth having is worth working for. There is longevity in the work. It may take a while to move through the “work” part but I promise when you get to the other side, you’ll be amazed at what you’ve accomplished.
Many of us confuse writing down our goals and making our to-do list with the actual work. You ever sat down at the table and grabbed your notebook and planned out entire brands, events, merch ideas and more?! I know I have, several times. And somehow I always fell short when it came to execution. I found great enjoyment in planning things on paper and creating lists of tasks I needed to accomplish. But in the midst of all this writing down and imagining, I was neglecting the step where I actually DID THE WORK! Insane right?! Now this is not to say that we shouldn’t write out our plans and make it make sense for us. This is just your year end reminder that the world deserves your ideas and plans, not just your notebook.
As we close 2020 and ask 2021 to come in here with some sense, I’m urging you to put some action behind your words this year. I want you to dive head first into executing your dreams and goals with reckless abandon. I want you to know that absolutely nothing is going to beat doing the work. There’s so much to gain. Please know that the work looks different for different people and that’s okay. In 2021 we’re doing less comparing and more leaning in. Encourage yourself. Start small. Execute one goal, then try two and pretty soon, you’ll be a Queen/King of execution and you’ll look back on all the work you did in amazement!
The journey to achieving our goals can and will include some tears, some pain and some sleepless nights but I’ve been on the other side of doing the work a few times and I love it here lol. I promise you will too. So write the vision, make it plain, then DO THE WORK! Done is better than perfect and execution can be tweaked along the way.