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How To Set and Achieve Your Goals in the New Year

“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”  – Henry David Thoreau

As we approach the New Year, 45% of Americans will set a New Year’s resolution.  The most common resolutions involve losing weight, getting organized, and spending less and saving more money.  The bummer is that only 8% of those will be successful in achieving their resolution.  Only 8%!

The dictionary defines resolution as a firm decision to do or not to do something.  Whereas, a goal is defined as the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.

In years past I have resolved to exercise more and boy oh boy, those first three or four weeks were awesome!!  Next thing I knew excuses would slip in as to why something else was a better use of my time.  Sometimes that “something” was nothing but catching the latest episode of House Hunters International!

What went wrong?

Most people who fail in their New Year’s resolutions set unrealistic goals and/or expectations and oftentimes resolve to do something that they are not really ready to do.  In the case of my failed resolution attempt, it was not taking into account the type of exercise that would be fun and motivational for me, and setting overambitious, unrealistic goals—a surefire way to burn out.

As Thoreau points out in his statement above, it’s what you become by achieving your goals that is important.

We all want to be the best version of ourselves and lead meaningful lives, right?  If so, we must first get serious with deciding on what it is that we will resolve to do to become that best version of ourselves.

How do we do this?

We set goals that get to the heart of who or what we want to become.

Following are some tips and points to consider as you set your goals in an effort to be the best YOU for the New Year and beyond!

REFLECT on the past year—the good, the bad, and the ugly.  What were you most proud of, what did you enjoy the most, what failure can you learn from, what helped you to become more of the person you want to be?  Reflection will help you to examine and learn from your past experiences in order to fine-tune your future steps.

DON’T COPY someone else’s goals just because you think they’re awesome.  It’s ok to look to others for inspiration, but it’s critical to set goals that are realistic and unique to you.  As Oscar Wilde put it, “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”

BE INCLUSIVE.  It’s important to give attention to all areas in your life when setting goals.  If your goals are all centered on finances and you ignore the relationships in your life, then you will never achieve a life of balance or be the best version of yourself.  I broke down my goals this year into four categories: Well-being (includes exercise, diet, and spirituality), Relationships, Business, and Financial.  I then included 3-5 goals under each category.  Be careful about setting too many goals—overwhelming yourself like this can cause you to abandon ALL your goals.

THINK SMART.  S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting is a method used to define and break down goals in the following way: Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound.  Click here for an in-depth post I wrote about using this method.

WRITE YOUR GOALS DOWN and you will be 42% more likely to achieve success with those goals.  Enough said.  Click here to check out Dr. Gail Matthews’ research on the subject.  By the way, I wrote my goals in a journal a friend gave me for Christmas and then I use this goal-setting worksheet I created to work on the details.

SHARE WITH SOMEONE YOU TRUST.  I am a firm believer in having an accountability partner for certain goals.  This person can be someone actively involved in helping you to achieve your goals or they can be someone you periodically count on to bounce ideas off or receive a word of encouragement or advice from.  Please choose this person carefully–forget about the “smoke-blowers” and the naysayers and choose someone who has your best interest at heart.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!  You are your best advocate.  Don’t let negative self-talk make you believe something that is not true.

Wishing you a New Year filled with blessings!

One last thing…I’ve got some great stuff planned this next year for my blog. Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss a thing!  Just enter your email in the box above or below this post and you will receive new posts via email each week.

Jill xx

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Dreams Can Come True

Last week we talked about dreaming big and why many of us do not.

The main reasons I see dreams dashed are: fear, procrastination, and listening to negative talk–either from yourself or others.

Did you notice I didn’t say the main reason people don’t fulfill their dreams is because they don’t have an MBA or gobs of money in the bank?

Following are 8 steps that anyone can use to begin the process of making their dream become a reality.  

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” ~ Colin Powell

  1.  Find your passion. Sounds easy doesn’t it? For some people it is.  For the rest of us, it can be a life-time struggle and endless search.

Merriam-Webster defines passion as:  A strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something.

With this definition in mind, here are a few questions for you to ponder:

  • What is so exciting that it keeps you up at night?
    Writing, cooking, knitting, opening a restaurant, wanting to help others, drawing, etc.?  You fill in the “blank”.
    NOTE: If you read my last post, you may have already worked on this list.  If not, grab a notepad or journal and jot down some ideas now.
  • Here’s another way to look at it.  What do you get supercharged about?  In conversation, what topic pops up that you just can’t get enough of?  For me, it’s talking to someone about their dreams and goals in life and helping them to figure out a game plan to make it all a reality.
  • What are you curious about?
  • What is most important to you in life?  Stability, adventure, comfort, helping others, tons of money, early retirement, etc.?

What sticks out on your list?  Did something in particular rise to the surface?  Yes?  If so, move on to the next step.

If you didn’t come up with anything earthshaking today, don’t worry.  These questions are good ones to get you thinking and exploring ideas.  Put your list down and come back to it later.  For now, let’s move on to the next step.

  1.  Dreams can come true. Have you admitted to yourself that the ideas and excitement that keep you up at night are part of a dream that could actually become your reality? Sometimes we keep our dreams in a little box that we only allow ourselves to take quick peeks inside before closing it up again.

I dreamed about starting this blog three years before I actually did.  I came up with every imaginable excuse of why it wouldn’t work… you don’t know how to write, who wants to hear what you have to say, stick with helping others figure out how to achieve their dreams–not your own, you don’t have time for any “side” projects.  Want to know the turning point for making my dream of creating this blog come true?  Long story short, I had a neck injury that had me lying flat on my back in pain for several days.  Besides praying for relief, I reflected on what’s important in life.  I realized that writing this blog was something I felt I was meant to do, even if that meant me stepping out of my comfort zone.

  1.  Realize if your dream is just that–a dream (best left on the pillow). If you are 50 years old, have never ice skated, but have decided that you are going to make your Olympic ice skating career a reality, it may be in your best interest to come up with a dream that’s a bit more realistic. The next step (#4) will help reel you in with this one.  You may come to realize that some things are better enjoyed as hobbies.
  2.  Take action. Ok, so now you’ve got a great idea and you are convinced it’s not just a pipe dream. Time to get moving! If you don’t start, you’re not going to get anywhere, are ya? I suggest you define and evaluate your goals by using the S.M.A.R.T goal setting method.

Here’s how to break down the S.M.A.R.T. acronym:

  • SPECIFIC – What do you want to accomplish?  Break it down.  Be very specific.
    Not specific: I will write a book.
    Specific: I will write 2 chapters in my book every week.
  • MEASURABLE – Figure out how to quantifiably measure your goal.  Put some concrete numbers down here.
    Not measureable: I will earn a ton of money when my book is published.
    Measureable: I will earn $175,000 in profit after publishing my first book.
  • ATTAINABLE – Is your goal something that can be achieved within the framework of what you can commit to?
    Not attainable: I will write 14 hours per day while holding down my full-time day job, too.
    Yes: I will spend 2 hours per night devoted to writing.
  • REALISTIC – This goes back to the Olympic figure skating example earlier.  Is your goal realistic within your abilities, experience, etc.?
    Not realistic: I will skate in the next Winter Olympics at the age of 51.
    Realistic: I will take ice skating lessons and join an over 50 ice skating club.
  • TIME BOUND – Every goal should have a deadline.  I have found that when I don’t assign a deadline, the goal will be pushed back to the end of the line time and again.
    Not time bound: I will write two books.
    Time bound: I will write my first book by the end of the year and complete my second book within 18 months following.

I have created a form to help you organize your S.M.A.R.T. goals.  Click here to download your free S.M.A.R.T. goal tracker.

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”  ~ Conrad Hilton

  1.  Let it evolve.  Now that you’ve got your S.M.A.R.T. goals written down, don’t let how you think the plan should play out overrule the organic evolution of “the dream”. Often times we try to control the outcome so much that we miss out on the beauty of the natural creative flow that takes place. Yes, it’s important to write down goals and have a plan of action, but there may be opportunities that present themselves along the way that change the course a bit.  How you get there may change, just keep the end goal in focus!
  2.  Don’t get distracted. Do you tend to have the “shiny object” problem? At times I will be steadily working on a project and decide to stop and check my emails.  The “I’ll just check real quick,” does not work.  The next thing I know, I have responded to several emails, checked Facebook, and it’s an hour later.  Don’t allow yourself to be caught in a time-suck that throws you off your game!  Stay focused!
  3.  Visualize your dreams coming true.  This part is fun! Who hasn’t had the, “What would you do if you won the lottery conversation?” When we visualize a desired outcome, our brains can sense that motivation and new ideas will begin to materialize.  My husband visualized hitting a softball solidly out of the park when we were on an amateur league at my office years ago.  You know what?  Almost every single time he stepped up to bat, he hit it out of the park!  A large part of training takes place when you close your eyes.  Visualizing creates muscle memory.  The same idea can work to help you see your dreams come to fruition.
  4.  Celebrate your successes (even the ones that some people call failures). Cue the Kool & The Gang song… ♪ ♪ Celebrate good times, come on! ♪ ♪  Determine “success milestones” and celebrate your accomplishments. The process of realizing your dreams can be hard work! Go ahead and pat yourself on the back…treat yourself to a large pepperoni pizza…get that mani/pedi—and then get back to work.

On the other hand, learn from your mistakes. Consider your mistakes a gift.  A gift that is used wisely will bring you much success in the future.  The key is to avoid making the same mistakes again and again.

Ok, so now you have 8 steps to get you moving in the right direction to making your dreams come true.

Hold on!  I’m going to add one more important step.  Let’s call it THE GOLDEN BONUS STEP.  This one will take some courage but will pay off.

Here it is…THE GOLDEN BONUS STEP!  Tell me (in the comment section below) what two steps you will take in the next 24 hours to work toward your dream.  Don’t let this step intimidate you.  Maybe your two steps will be to print out the goal setting sheet and spend 15 minutes each day over the next week working on completing the sheet.  That’s awesome!!  As a matter of fact, you can just copy what I just wrote and paste it in the comment section below.  Sometimes just publicly saying you are going to do something, will keep you motivated (and held accountable) when you feel like giving up.

Remember, I am here to offer you direction and encouragement along the way.  If you have questions on anything I have written about here, just ask.  I would love to help you work toward making your dreams come true!

If you found this post helpful, inspiring, or just plain awesome, please be kind and share with others.

Jill xx

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