Engineering a Personal Transformation

When is a good time to begin a personal transformation? January 1? The first day of spring? Your birthday? The best answer I have found to this question is today. Today is a great time to begin a personal transformation.

A personal transformation means that you will move from where you are currently to a new place where you are a better version of yourself. You could decide you need to transform your health, your personal relationships, or your skillset for your life calling. To transform yourself in any area of your life requires two things: First, you must decide you want to change. Second, you must have a vision of what the transformed you will look like or the outcome you desire.

5 Tips for a Successful Transformation

Personal transformations have a much better chance of success when you take intentional action. Here are five tips to ensure you have a successful transformation.

• Make sure your “why” is strong enough to sustain you in the challenging moments.

If you are making a change because it is January 1, and it just seems like a good time to try something different, you will not make it to February. This is true no matter what time of the year it is. When challenges arise, your feelings will take over, and no one feels like transforming. Why do you want to transform? 

• Set small goals that can be accomplished daily.

A common trap of well-meaning transformations is setting significant goals that become overbearing and almost impossible to attain. Decide on something small that you can do daily that will move you toward your larger goal slowly. Small wins, done consistently, over time, ensures remarkable results.

• Make consistency a goal.

You will have a much greater chance of completing your transformation if you take small steps daily versus taking larger actions less frequently. There is a magic about doing small things every day, consistently over time that works. No consistency, no transformation!

• Celebrate milestones along the way.

A true transformation takes time. It’s easy when results begin to show to stop doing the daily disciplines that got you to this point. Celebrate the small wins and then stay focused on the daily consistency.

• Track and share your goal, progress, and challenges with someone else.

Call it accountability if you like, but when we track our progress and include others in our transformational journey, it just seems to make things more real. I am much more likely to stay the course if I know others are watching and pulling for me.

It’s not what you intend to do that gets you to your goal; it’s what you actually do that matters. Make the decision today to venture outside your comfort zone and begin the journey to a better version of yourself.

Perry Holley is a coach and facilitator with the John Maxwell Company’s Corporate Solutions Group as well as a published author. He has a passion for developing others and seeing people grow into the leaders they were intended to become.