Success: How to Ask the Right Questions

Q. My problem is that I have trouble keeping my motivation and energy up day to day. I get so scattered and wind up forgetting where I want to go. Do you have any suggestions for making this work on a daily basis?

A. One idea that really seems to work is having a daily success program.

A daily success program is simply a daily routine designed to create a successful, well-lived day and a successful well-lived life as a result. More than a daily schedule or day planner, a daily success program is designed to help you create a compelling day, keep you on track with your goals, wake up each day excited to begin the day and go to bed at night feeling as if you have had a day well-lived. I realize that's a fairly bold statement, but here's how it can work for you.

What do most people think of when they first wake up in the morning?

Usually something like, "Is it Saturday yet?" or "How many times can I hit the snooze button and still be to work on time?"

Not a great way to start the day.

I wonder what would happen if you awakened each day and asked yourself:

What's great about today?

What am I grateful for today?

What am I looking forward to today?

What can I contribute today?

What small steps can I take today that will have a lasting, positive effect in my life?

Now, after a positive start to the day, how do you keep your momentum going? Think small! That's the only sure way to achieve any lasting, long-term change.

Most people set out thinking big, try to do too much at once, can't do it all, get frustrated and give up.

I know a guy who was terribly out of shape who now runs marathons and does quite well. How did he do it?

Well, on the first day he started running, he ran to the end of his yard. The next day he ran to the end of his neighbor's yard. The day after that, another yard farther, and so on, until that little run on Day 1 turned into a marathon.

By taking small actions each day, momentous change can take place.

So here is another tool to add to your daily success program: Pick a small action each day to improve your life. If you just do 1 percent better each day, you will build incredible momentum and become virtually unstoppable.

What if you don't know what to do? You do not have to know what to do before you get going. Try different strategies. If they work, keep doing them. If they don't, keep trying other strategies. Remember this:

Success comes from good judgment.

Good judgment comes from experience.

Experience comes from bad judgment.

Another tool to add to your daily success program is what I call the Must Do's and the Must Not Do's.

What are three things, unique to your own situation, that you must avoid each day? What are three things that you must do each day? Once you get into the habit of thinking this way, it becomes a success habit.

Practice and install these four simple routines into your daily life and you will notice an almost immediate difference in your attitude, your energy and your results:

Wake-up questions.

Small actions.

The Musts.

Day-ending questions.

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