Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to find your people. If you want
Speaker 1: to make progress toward your goals, you can find or
Speaker 1: create a group with similar aspirations and that can help
Speaker 1: you stay on track. In an earlier episode this week,
Speaker 1: I describe the benefits of having a goal group. The
Speaker 1: social aspect makes goal directed behavior more fun. When we
Speaker 1: schedule things, we tend to do them, and group activities
Speaker 1: tend to involve scheduling. A group also provides accountability to
Speaker 1: ensure you make progress. Of course, wanting to achieve a
Speaker 1: goal as a group and actually becoming part of such
Speaker 1: a group are two entirely different things. Especially these days,
Speaker 1: connecting with people can be a little more challenging, but
Speaker 1: don't worry. Your people are out there. You can find
Speaker 1: them when you've identified your specific goal. The first step
Speaker 1: to finding a group is too well. Ask tell friends,
Speaker 1: family members, colleagues that you are looking for some folks
Speaker 1: to help you write that novel, train for a marathon,
Speaker 1: get out of debt, or change careers. Post your question
Speaker 1: on social media and you might be directed to various
Speaker 1: groups oriented to these purposes. Not all of them are
Speaker 1: going to be great, but you might be able to
Speaker 1: study the options and see which best match your style.
Speaker 1: You might also go where the groups might be. Bookstores
Speaker 1: might sponsor book clubs, or clubs looking for new members
Speaker 1: might post flyers there that you can see. Libraries might
Speaker 1: sponsor various groups or have information from community groups on
Speaker 1: display the staff and also direct you. An athletics store
Speaker 1: might sponsor or recommend running or cycling groups. An outdoor
Speaker 1: store can connect you with hiking or kayaking groups. Your
Speaker 1: house of worship might be a source of all sorts
Speaker 1: of group activity too, and anyone who is well connected,
Speaker 1: such as say a pastor, might be able to put
Speaker 1: you in touch with other people aiming in similar directions.
Speaker 1: Small and local is great, but don't discount massive group
Speaker 1: efforts either. Thousands of folks participate in the National Novel
Speaker 1: Writing Month challenge and write a fifty thousand word novel
Speaker 1: draft in November. Vast quantities of people also stop drinking
Speaker 1: during dry January. Even if you're not part of a
Speaker 1: small group, you can take motivation from the fact that
Speaker 1: many other people are doing the same thing at the
Speaker 1: same time of course, you can start groups yourself too.
Speaker 1: This is pretty much the best way to ensure that
Speaker 1: the group you wind up being part of matches your style.
Speaker 1: You don't have to know a ton of people with
Speaker 1: similar goals. You really just have to find one or
Speaker 1: two and then ask them to tap their networks as
Speaker 1: well until you reach a good size of committed people.
Speaker 1: I took this approach for creating a writing strategy group
Speaker 1: a few years ago. I wanted to feel like I
Speaker 1: had a few more colleagues in this business, so I
Speaker 1: asked some people I knew who had similar business models
Speaker 1: to mine if they'd like to join. We now meet
Speaker 1: every month by video chat. We send our questions around
Speaker 1: beforehand and discussed strategy for a few minutes apiece. The
Speaker 1: upside of video chat, of course, is that you can
Speaker 1: convene people from anywhere, and that's really a good thing.
Speaker 1: The pandemic has taught us that meeting face to face
Speaker 1: isn't the only way to do business. Getting together as
Speaker 1: a group is probably easier. When you don't have to
Speaker 1: travel anywhere. You can spend less time on logistics and
Speaker 1: more time focused on your goals. Consistency is key. Come
Speaker 1: up with a regular routine for checking in with each other.
Speaker 1: This can be as formal or informal as you wish.
Speaker 1: A group text could suffice for people working on cooking more.
Speaker 1: Instead of ordering takeout, you send each other photos of
Speaker 1: your creations, which is great for inspiration and accountability. You
Speaker 1: could email a writing group your word count each day,
Speaker 1: or send your running group a screenshot of your workouts.
Speaker 1: Just knowing that your friends are expecting news of your
Speaker 1: accomplishments can fuel you for that next sprint, and if
Speaker 1: you need help or encouragement, you know that they are
Speaker 1: just a text away. If you are part of a
Speaker 1: goal group, I'd love to hear about how you found
Speaker 1: or started your group and how you support each other.
Speaker 1: We might be able to use this as part of
Speaker 1: some future episodes. You can reach me at Laura at
Speaker 1: Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then
Speaker 1: Breakfast p O d. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot
Speaker 1: com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
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