I am creating a sunflower celebration summer. I decided to plant sunflowers all over my yard, take care of them, watch them grown and then celebrate with a party.
I did it because I had another project I was working on and it seemed so hard, I needed some sunny sunflowers to support it. Each step to grow sunflowers mirrors the steps that I need to take in my other project, which is to become proficient in my social media while enjoying the process.
Know what you want – people get hung up on this one all the time. They say something like, “I want to get better at social media”. It’s too vague. You can’t create actions to support it. You can’t measure it. You won’t even know when you get there. Choose one specific goal. It can have several steps, but you want just one goal.
Create a vision – It was so easy to create the vision of the sunflower celebration. I know what sunflowers look like, I know what type of seeds I bought, I know where I am planting them. I can see the vision of three rows of sunflowers blooming, with tall ones in the back, five-foot flowers blooming in the middle and cute little teddy bear sunflowers with their ruffly blooms blooming in the front. Having that vision made it really easy to plant to it. Creating a vision isn’t always easy, but if you break down exactly what you want, you can start seeing what you want to create. Creating the vision helps you see the actions you need to take.
Consistent action – To get any project done you need to take action. Your actions need to be chosen with your end in mind. What are the next actions that that will get you to where you want to goal? Do them and then do the next steps. An important part of your actions is to make them consistent. If you do a whole bunch of things in a flurry and then put off the next steps until you have another burst of energy and activity, you eventually burn out and quit.
Measure progress – It is so gratifying to know that you are making progress. It keeps your goal front and center, and it helps you know whether you need to work harder or if you are on target.
Celebrate successes – Take a page from Mary Poppins, “in every job that must be done there is an element of fun. You find the fun and SNAP the job’s a game” Celebrating is that element of fun that makes is a game and not work.
Keep going – don’t quit.
I’m inviting you to join me in creating your own sunflower celebration project this summer. I am willing to help you with your goal, your vision and mapping out your actions. Reach out to me, I would love to help you celebrate your summer, you might even want to plant a couple of sunflowers.
