Own Your ONE Thing

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
– Stephen Covey

This powerful statement by Stephen Covey underlines the essence of identifying your ONE Thing. It's about understanding what truly matters and making it the cornerstone of your daily life. Let's explore seven key strategies to pinpoint that singular, most impactful goal.

1. Reflect and List: Start by listing all your current goals. This could include career ambitions, personal development targets, relationship aspirations, or health objectives.

2. Evaluate Impact and Alignment: For each goal, assess its potential impact on your life. Which goal, when achieved, would make the most significant difference? This step involves not only logical analysis but also tuning into your emotions. How do you feel about each goal? Which one resonates most deeply with your core values and beliefs? The goal that aligns best with your personal values and has the potential to create the most positive change is likely your ONE Thing.

3. Distinguish Between Goals and Plans: It's crucial to differentiate goals from plans. A goal is your desired outcome, while a plan is the set of steps you'll take to get there. For instance, 'becoming a renowned author' is a goal, whereas 'writing for an hour each day' is part of a plan. Focusing on your ONE Thing means keeping the goal in sight and adapting your plans as needed to achieve it.

4. Seek Clarity Through Visualization: Imagine your life after achieving each of your listed goals. How does it look? How do you feel? Remembering Your Future Self can bring clarity and help you feel more connected to the goal that truly matters.

5. Consult Trusted Advisors: Sometimes, getting an outside perspective helps. Discuss your goals with trusted friends, mentors, or family members. They might offer insights that you hadn’t considered.

6. Use the Pareto Principle: Also known as the 80/20 rule, this principle suggests that 20% of your efforts will yield 80% of your results. Identify which of your goals falls into this category. Which one goal will bring the most significant benefits? Author of Own Your ONE Thing, Gary Keller, distills this process down to a key defining question:

What's the One Thing I can do
such that by doing it
everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

7. Conduct a Trial Period: Sometimes, the best way to identify your ONE Thing is to give it a trial run. Dedicate a set period, like a month, to focus intensely on one goal. Assess the impact it has on your life and how it makes you feel.

By following these steps, you can sift through the multitude of ambitions and aspirations to uncover the ONE Thing that will be the game-changer in your life. Remember, identifying your ONE Thing is not about doing less, but about focusing on the most impactful action that will drive the most significant results.

As you embark on this journey of discovery, keep in mind that your ONE Thing might evolve over time, and that's perfectly okay. What's important is that you're always aligned with what matters most to you!