Happy New Year – 2015! Time to Set New Goals and Resolutions!
January 11, 2015
I like the term, “new”. It implies fresh, clean and unspoiled. The genesis of a new year begs to be treated with the same respect one would show a new car, a new house or a new job. A new year begs for a fresh start, a clean slate, and perhaps new goals and some fresh evaluations.
Let’s talk about new goals; call them resolutions, goals, a wish list…whatever you prefer. The bottom line: Nearly all of you reading this have some fresh new start you’d like to commence in 2015 and hopefully follow it through sufficiently to see some kind of change. Perhaps it’s a diet, a new exercise regimen, additional education, or learning a craft or a new language. Maybe it includes living by a stricter budget, learning to invest wisely, or obtaining a second job?
Let’s address the issue of why so many resolutions fail. Here are seven decisions one must make BEFORE you set any goals:
1. Resolutions fail because the goals are fuzzy and non-specific. Losing weight is one of the more popular resolutions, yet, that’s a bit broad. How much weight is “losing weight?” 5lbs? 15lbs? 30lbs? You will come much nearer to reaching a goal when you can define it in simple language that you understand. Choosing to lose 5lbs in January and 10lbs by spring break is more specific. Make your goals crystal clear, specific, and realistic.
2. Write down your goals/resolutions! Don’t rely upon your memory as it’s faulty. Type or write them out in plain simple language and post them where you will be sure to see them multiple times daily. I place them on the fridge and the bathroom mirror – and it works! Having goals written down helps your mind to better visualize your desire, but posting those goals before you daily puts the energy of your mind to work figuring out better ways to reach those goals. We succeed at what we think about in our spare time. Don’t plan a goal and then trust it to your memory; help yourself to succeed. Keep that goal before your eyes multiple times daily.
3. Have a plan. A goal without a plan is a plan to fail! You may need to do some core research and enlist the advice of someone accomplished in that area, but you will need a proven practical plan that you will follow – Your plan must be: simple, proven to work, thoroughly understood by you, something that you want to follow, and something you can do without radically changing your life schedule. In short, the plan must fit who you are, not who you are not!
4. Try to get a partner to follow the plan with you. Your chances of succeeding increase many times when you have the incentive of a partner joining you.
5. Evaluate and modify your goals regularly. I recommend that every 3-6 months, you sit down with your trainer/friend/adviser/spouse and re-examine the goals in light of what you have accomplished and how you want to proceed. Reaching a goal is not a rigid formula of one-size-fits-all.
6. Set short term and intermediate goals that show progression in your journey to a new you.
7. Even if you set a lifestyle change as your resolution, have some measurable goals to help encourage you. Perhaps your goal is to make a lifestyle change. For instance, let’s say that you resolve to change your eating habits and to eat more healthy foods. That is noble, but it is not as measurable as weight loss. These kinds of goals also need a measurable factor to help one maintain. If you want to stop smoking, you could set reduction goals over time. Yes, it may be best to stop cold-turkey, but few do. And having goals of reducing the number of cigarettes you smoke per day is also a good way to pursue your long-term goal of not smoking.
