BUSINESS
‘Start Your Engine’ And Rev Up To Hit Your Goals Getting off to a strong start at the beginning of each day, each week, each month and each quarter will help you reach the finish line. By Sarano Kelley
P
icture this: You’re sitting in your NASCAR Gen-6 car nervously listening as the crowd cheers wildly with anticipation. As you and the other drivers slowly follow the pace car around the track, you’re ready! The pace car pulls over, the green flag waves, and with a thunderous roar, the race begins. Unfortunately, your foot slips off the gas pedal, and as you frantically try to regain your footing, the other cars are leaving you in their dust. Even though you may not be a race car driver, the analogy still applies whether you’re an agent or advisor. Your ability to succeed in business or in life depends on whether you achieve stable footing or 44
stumble awkwardly toward your goals. We all set goals, often at the first of the year or the beginning of the quarter, month or week. Some of these goals might include increasing your prospecting efforts, getting in better physical shape or increasing the number of contracts written. In the beginning, we’re energized by the desire to reach our goals. However, as life happens, distractions occur: phone calls from friends and family, emails or a golf date with a colleague. As our resolution diminishes, goals fall to the wayside, and again we find ourselves in a slump. The goal to start dieting or increase your prospecting efforts on Monday is no longer a priority by Tuesday or Wednesday. So how can you strengthen your resolve? How can you ensure you keep your foot on the gas pedal in order to win the race? The following are a few small steps you can take to help you “start your engine” each day and lead you on a path
InsuranceNewsNet Magazine » February 2022
toward achieving your business development goals.
An Energized Beginning
How do you begin your day? Do you jump out of bed with your engine revved? Do you enthusiastically embrace the demands of the day? Or instead, do you feel you never get enough sleep, and today is just another one of “those” days? There are two hormones that affect our sleep cycle — cortisol and melatonin. While cortisol raises our blood pressure in preparation for physical activity, melatonin helps us sleep. A balance of these two hormones is required for a good night’s sleep and to help us feel energized when waking. In my earlier years, I found myself getting up late in the morning already feeling behind and unfocused. Apparently, my hormones were out of sync. Trying to reach peak performance, I drank a lot of coffee to clear my mind — it didn’t work. Then a friend told me about an exercise
