Checklists... Copy That?

Everyone's seen checklists. No, I'm not just talking about 'To Do' lists or what to get at the grocery store.

I'm talking about the checklists that people write about related to a certain topic that if you follow you will achieve that certain thing.

Let me start by saying that there is absolutely nothing wrong with checklists. They are extremely useful. The thing is that copying someone else's checklist isn't necessarily going to work for you exactly as laid out by the author. If you do begin to follow a certain checklist you'll probably soon find yourself adapting it to suit your needs and your lifestyle.

In life, you've gotta make your life work for you!

In the end, there is NO prescription for life, success, relationships, business. There are only things to learn. If you're reading checklists and trying to follow along some will work, others may not.

Here's my analogy for this idea I'm presenting. Take a personal trainer. Their goal is the assess where you're at and they'll set goals with you about where you want to be and they'll create a workout plan based on that. A key piece to this is that they will (hopefully, if they're good) adapt the plan to your changes in endurance, physical strength, weight loss, or whatever your goals are. If they kept the plan the exact same you'd either (at some point) get bored or stop seeing results.

In our lives, we are BOTH trainer AND trainee. There are times when we look to great coaches or motivators to find out what they do. We may follow their outline or guide or checklist on how to achieve something but at some point we will have to adapt their process to the changes we've made in our lives. We will have to adapt it and make it our own or move on to something else entirely.

There are some important aspects of the trainer/trainee analogy. Accountability and action are absolutely key AND they go BOTH WAYS. Both the trainer and trainee need to be accountable to one another and take action to ensure success. The trainer has a job to do in helping the trainee achieve their goals. The trainee has to take action and be committed to the plan.

Reflection:

Are there certain times in your life where you need your 'trainer-self' to take control and push you to do something? One thing to recognize is that we all have that motivator, mentor, coach, or trainer inside of ourselves. Awaken your trainer within you. If you're not there yet, get out there and find that book, person, group, or checklist that is going to get you started or on track towards your goals and then adapt it to yourself and your unique attributes, life situation, goals, etc.

As always, STRIVE TO OPTIMIZE!