How to Make Progress In your Life
How to Make Progress in Your Life
Here are our top tips to help you make progress in your life:
- Specialise
- Eliminate non-essentials
- Set specific goals.
- Never guess.
- Never give-in. Soldier-on.
1. Specialise
The economic world is based upon two key ideas;
- the "division of labour"
- "specialisation".
In order to be successful, you need to be better than the others around you.
And in order to do that, you must specialise.
Don't be a jack of all trades, instead, be a master of one.
Specialise at being the best at what you do.
Make yourself an expert.
2. Eliminate the non-essentials.
In order to specialise, you must eliminate everything that does not relate to your specialism.
You have a limited amount of time, but you face an unlimited demand.
You need to be NOT distracted by the countless things that do not relate to your purpose.
Throw out everything that does not contribute to your progress, in other words, "Skip the trash"
3. Set specific goals.
Massive progress is built from achieving subset goals.
The winner wins only after years of achieving smaller, subset goals.
- The athlete sets goals to lift a certain weights in a certain time.
- The salesperson sets goals to make a certain number of prospecting calls today.
- The business owner sets goals to create a certain amount of profit each month.
You need to develop a similar goal focused mentality.
Your goals should be specific, numerical, well defined and time bound.
4. Never guess.
If you want to make more progress, then base your actions upon a logical evaluation of all the available evidence.
You should never act on whim, guess or transient emotion.
Never trust to luck. Instead, find the facts.
5. Never give-in. Soldier-on.
You can never know all the facts, and so things will often go wrong.
It is during these trying times, that many people give-in.
Never give in.
No matter what the circumstances, keep going.
Successful people are those who have overcome the greatest number of setbacks and disappointments.
Those who surrender too soon are forever doomed to failure; because goals of high value are difficult to achieve and are therefore, reserved only for those who soldier on.
Definition: specific goal
In personal development, a specific goal is an objective written in clear words that leaves no room for doubt. It tells exactly what you will do, gives a number or other measure, sets a due date, and fits your main purpose. If any one of these parts is missing, the goal stops being specific.
Show CG4D Definition
- Stated in plain, unambiguous language
- Includes a measurable figure or result
- Has a fixed completion date
- Aligns with the person’s main purpose or focus
Article Summary
Progress is simple yet hard: master one skill, cut the noise, write clear goals, trust facts not luck and keep moving when life pushes back; follow these five acts each day and you will make progress in life that grows into lasting success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions that frequently get asked about this topic during our training sessions.
Why does the article say you must specialise to make progress in life?
How can I choose the right area to specialise in?
What does the post mean by “eliminate non-essentials”?
How do I write a specific goal?
Why should I avoid guessing when making decisions?
What can I do when setbacks slow my progress?
How do the five steps work together to make progress in life?
Thought of something that's not been answered?
Did You Know: Key Statistics
The 2024 Asana State of Work report finds that teams who write clear goals are 2.9 times more likely to reach their targets than teams who do not. Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index shows employees who block at least two hours of focus time each day report 50% less distraction-driven stress.Blogs by Email
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Further Reading in Goal Setting
-
How to Make Progress in Your Life
Discover five steps to make progress in life: specialise, cut distractions, set measurable goals, act on evidence and persist. Use them to unlock growth.
Read Article > -
Eight Part SMART Targets
Learn how the 8 Part SMART model transforms vague aims into clear, measurable and achievable goals, giving you and your team a proven map from idea to result.
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Get There Faster: Our Guide to Achieving Goals by Slowing Down
Achieve goals faster by slowing down. Learn how the slow down to speed up method cuts mistakes, lowers stress and lets you work smarter not harder in daily life
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Where Are The UK's Most Ambitious People In 2021?
Discover the 2021 ranking of the most ambitious UK cities, see why Wales leads the way, and get six clear goal-setting tips to boost your own ambition today.
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How to Create Smart Goals
Create SMART goals that stick. Use eight questions to set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound targets and plan success with our goal tool
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