We’re in the first half of January and it’s the season of high hopes that you can implement positive changes into your life and business.

…And it’s the season of kinda knowing in the back of your mind that this never works.

But why doesn’t it work? And is it possible to actually have lasting change?

Let’s take a look.

Why Do People Fail at Goals So Often?

It seems like everyone truly wants to be a better person. So why is it that we stay pretty much the same, year after year?

The reason has to do with how people set goals. Even the best goal-setters:

• Set goals that are too big
• Try to change too many things at once
• Expect results immediately

See, there’s nothing exciting about, say, doing one pushup a day. Nothing visionary. It doesn’t catch our imagination. But when we imagine ourselves being the kind of person that works out an hour a day five days a week, we get excited!

So, unfortunately, we try to START at an hour a day, five days a week.

But we’re not that person. We don’t have that fitness yet. So we do it for two days, get injured or exhausted, and give up.

One secret of goal-setting success is to start ridiculously small. 

The Real Power Behind Successful Changes

Starting small is effective because it gives us access to the true power behind successful change:

HABITS.

Over 40% of your day is governed by your habits. Some people think it may be as high as 90%. These are the things you do immediately, without thinking. There is very little internal resistance to them.

The goal is to get your desired new activity into the status of a habit. However, forming new habits takes time, and often takes a lot of mental and physical effort in the beginning.

Think of it like moving to a new city. For the first few months, everything is strange. You need a GPS everywhere you go, from a restaurant to the grocery store. But a few years later? It’s all automatic. You might even drive to work without remembering a single thing you saw along the way.

That’s how we need to be with changes. Expect it to be challenging and even scary at first, but eventually, it will be second nature.

Creating Habits in Your Real Estate Marketing

Maybe you’re thinking, “OK Nadine, nice pep talk, but what does this have to do with my business?”

EVERYTHING!

How are you going to have a consistent stream of clients if your marketing isn’t a habit? And how are you going to create that habit without starting small, today?

Start with sending a farming postcard once a quarter. Then once a month. Then follow up with door-knocking once a month. And so on.

Creating habits and building on them is called “habit stacking,” and it can help you go from one postcard to a full marketing routine over time.

But today, start small. Sign up to receive coupons so you can be notified of our upcoming special on farming, expired, and short sale postcards. When the deal is announced, grab yours and use them – slowly at first, and then more frequently over time.

Make 2020 the year your marketing becomes a habit, and see what new doors open for you!

What is your strongest habit? Share in the comments!