New Year’s Resolutions don’t work, but smart goal-setting does.
With each new year, comes new GOALS and DREAMS; and each year, we hope to do better in achieving what we set out to do at the beginning of the year.
We make a promise to ourselves to do better…
But for some reason, life gets in the way and we fall back into old habits and then bam! the year is over and before we know it, we are back to square one.
If this sounds like you, then let me share my five simple and doable steps with you. I’ve started doing this two years ago and I surprised myself when I saw how much better I did compare to when I used to make these silly “New Year’s resolutions”.
“The key to achieving your goal is to break it down into achievable targets and then take steps to make it happen on a monthly, weekly and daily basis. “
Here Are 5 Simple Steps To Smart Goal Setting
1. List your goals and dreams for the year.
Ideally, this is done at the beginning of each year, but it’s not too late to do it anytime if you see the need. The list comprises of your goals and dreams for the year. This is your dream list. Don’t be afraid to put as many dreams and goals as you wish. Then go trough the list again and scratch off anything that’s illegal, violates the law of physics or unreal. But if you have draconian goals that you feel must be included, then by all means, leave it. Your dream list becomes your guiding light. The mountain you need to keep your eyes on as you move forward.
Once you’ve done the list, write your WHY. A short sentence that describes what LIFE would be like when you achieve your goals. Visualize it and then put it at the end of your list.
One of the things that I’ve learned on a Life Orientation course I took a year ago is organizing my life into different departments – compartmentalizing them into different sections if you will.
Why?
Because in reality, we are pulled into different directions daily. We wear too many hats and have too many responsibilities that sometimes it is overwhelming.
Sounds familiar?
To balance everything, we must put our dreams into different categories. So from the list you made above, take the TOP 6 goals and put them into the following categories:
- Personal
- Business
- Family
- Benevolence & social responsibility
- Spiritual
- Financial
You can certainly achieve more than 6 goals a year, but for simplicity and doability, let’s focus on 6 goals to start with.
Here’s an example.
2. From it, list your monthly goals at the beginning of each month & get them done.
Your monthly goals should be specific and attainable based on your overall GOALS. For example, losing 30 lbs is not going to happen in a month, so you have to break it down to doable targets such as:
- Lose 5 lbs.
- Walk for 30 minutes every day before or after work.
- Enroll in a cooking course this month and start cooking healthy meals.
3. Write your weekly action plan based on your monthly goal & get them done.
- Walk for 30 minutes before work.
- Call the cooking school and enroll or watch a cooking show and learn how to make 2 healthy meals.
4. Write your daily action plan based on your weekly plan & get them done.
- Buy ingredients for the stew recipe and make it for supper.
5. At the end of each month, review your performance, pat yourself on the back and write your next month’s goals list and so on….
By doing these steps, you will avoid drifting through life aimlessly hoping for that illusive break to come to you. It will enable you to resist distractions and focus on what matters to you.
The secret to achieving your goals in life is to visualize & write them down and work on them every day.
Now it’s your turn.
What are some of the challenges or wins you’ve experienced on goal setting?
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