In 2014, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took on the challenge of learning Chinese. Next year, he demonstrated the results of his 1-year challenge and amazed the audience by giving a speech in Chinese at the University of Beijing. Zuckerberg launches all kinds of large and small challenges every year including exercise, learning a music instrument or language and work. He always produces great results. What’s his secret? Is it Zuckerberg’s sheer willpower and intelligence? Actually, it’s the strategies that go with the challenge that determines its success or failure! From setting the target to executing the challenge, G!VOICE will share with you the key strategies for accomplishing challenges!
1. The target must be hard! The harder the target, the higher the success rate
Mark Murphy, founder of the U.S. consulting firm Leadership IQ, discovered from consulting with well-known companies such as Microsoft, MasterCard and IBM that “hard targets” that are very challenging have the effect of pushing employees beyond their comfort zone and achieving unexpected results. Murphy also discovered that targets you can visualize helped to maintain enthusiasm for that challenge. Imagine that you are standing on top of Mt. Everest and looking down at the mountains below. Doesn’t that make your heart race?
2. Divide the Big Target into Countless Small Targets
We often divide our annual targets at work into quarterly targets, monthly targets and weekly targets. Yet we often forget this practical target setting strategy when planning our personal challenges. Take for example running the Tokyo Marathon in one year’s time. Start by going to 10KM and half-marathon races until you can complete a full marathon. If the target is too big, it might be abandoned because it seems out of reach. Setting smaller targets will produce a sense of achievement from accomplishing a target more frequently. It also hones the techniques needed to realize the big target.
3. Shorten the challenge time: 90 days is ideal
Long-term challenges often fail due to procrastination: you keep wanting to put it off for one more day. Successful entrepreneurs set a small target to accomplish every 90 days. When the challenge timeframe is reduced to 12 weeks then it adds a sense of urgency.
4. Leave clues to constantly remind yourself of the challenge
Once you are busy, you might forget all about the challenge. When you finally get around to thinking about it the drive is long gone. So put a visual clue somewhere that you will look at every day such as your office or computer desk. Remind yourself that you are still on the challenge and should not give up so easily.
5. Start with the hard part! Get up early to finish the challenge
Personal challenges are often placed in the queue behind work, family and leisure so the only time left is nighttime and weekends. In fact, this kind of mindset is doomed to failure. Set the alarm clock a little earlier every day instead. Let the challenge be the start to your day and accomplish your target with your energy levels high. You will then discover that staying with the challenge isn’t hard at all.
Defining a good strategy helps with accomplishing the challenge but passion is what really keeps things going. When you are thinking about a new target to challenge, consider removing all numerical indicators and practical requirements. Close your eyes and run the challenge through your mind. Feel in your heart whether it ignites your passion before deciding whether to embark on this challenge at all!
Reference：
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