The DCS system
In my post about the vision board I mentioned the DCS system. And today I want to explain it, because it sounds so simple, and it kind of is, but if you don’t follow some rules it won’t work.
Decide
This can be tricky because we’re talking here about short-term goals and not your long-term goals. For your long-term goals you are supposed to dream big, like the sky is the only limit. But for the short-term goals you must decide on manageable, timely limited goals. For example, if your long-term goal is to become a lawyer, then getting a high school diploma could be a short-term goal.
A popular goal is to lose weight. That is too unspecific. You must give it a number. If you want to lose a lot of weight it is better to break it down in smaller steps to not get discouraged. And give it a healthy time frame. I read a couple of posts on Facebook from people who want to lose 50 lbs in 3 months. That is doable, but not healthy and probably not long lasting. Unless your life is in danger and your doctor asks you to lose so many lbs in such a short time you are better off to decide on smaller goals (1-2 lbs weight loss per weeks seems to be a healthy rate).
Commit
There is a saying: Every achievement has its price! And here you must pay in advance. If you decided on your goals, you must commit yourself to them. To stay with our examples, if you decided to get your high school diploma while you’re working you will spend your evenings in school and your weekends buried in books. If you decided to lose weight, you will probably change your eating habits and exercise more. All that can minimize your social life, but good friends will stay at your side and support you.
Those changes aren’t easy and usually people who do that go through 3 phases. 1st you will have a good feeling for having started and changed something. Phase 2 is the turning point. The first hype is over, and the changes are just annoying. You would rather go out with your friends on the weekend instead of studying or go out with the girls to have some ice cream instead of sweating in the gym. Here it shows if you are really committed and pull through. Phase 3 is where it gets easier because the changes turn into new habits.
Succeed
Really? A chapter about succeeding? Having success is great and fun, so what is there to talk about? Let’s just say: celebrate, brag about it, reward yourself and then move on! Nothing wrong with enjoying the success, but leaning back for too long can get you off your track and out of your new habits. Don’t let that happen!
because you can 