If you’re like me, you have made some New Year’s resolutions or goals this year. I love this time of year. New beginnings. Fresh start. Clean the slate kind of thinking. But if you’re like me, you may have failed at reaching your goals in the past. Maybe you gave up on day 2 or week 3. Did you know that most people fail in their New Year’s resolutions within the first 2 weeks of making them? Why is that? And how can this year be different?
I recently attended a webinar by Michael Hyatt on Goal Setting. It was called “7 Steps for Taking Control of 2017”. And it was good. I bought one of his programs at the end of his presentation on making this the best year ever. I took my time working through the self-study course I purchased. I was a bit hesitant because it wasn’t my first time to the setting your goals rodeo. I have been learning about goal setting and how to do it since I was in college for music therapy 15 years ago! But something made me purchase this and I was really glad I did. Did you know that by simply writing down your goals, you have a 42% greater chance of achieving them?
If you haven’t checked out Michael Hyatt yet, I really encourage you to. And maybe even buy (and read!) one of his books or take a webinar with him. I can’t tell you everything I learned in the course I took, you will have to do that yourself. But I did want to share one thing to help you get on track and stay on track with goal setting this year.
Michael talks a lot about is SMARTER goals. He took the old concept of SMART goals and redefined it a bit:
Specific: Be specific about what you want. “I want to get healthy this year” is not specific. But “I will lose 20 lbs by June 30th”, is.
Measurable: have something in your goal that you can measure and check yourself against. I will lose 20lbs by June 30th by exercising at the gym 3 days a week for 45 min.
Actionable: I will run for 30 min. a day 3 days per week.
Risky: Get out of your comfort zone! Reach for the stars so you land on the moon. Just be sure not to aim into a place that is not realistic. If you set the bar too low, you may reach your goal early but not really grow in the areas you wish to. If it makes you a little uncomfortable, that is a good sign you’re on the right track.
Time-Keyed: Choose dates to achieve your goals by. Choose several dates at different points of the year.
Exciting: It is going to be a lot more fun, and do-able, if you’re excited about your goal!
Relavant: Keep your goals relevant to who you are as a person, keeping in line with your values.
As you write your goals down, be sure to share them with a trusted friend or accountability partner. This person or people can help you stay accountable and on track.
Lastly, write goals in different areas of your life. Family, marital, parental, spiritual, hobbies, work, finance…. keep your goals in front of you. Review them daily or weekly to help you evaluate and track your progress. Put some thought and effort into your goals and you may surprise yourself that you just may achieve them!
If you’re wondering, one of my goals is to write a new blog post weekly and to be more consistent with blogging! Hence, today’s post 🙂
Are you ready to make 2017 your best year yet? Let’s get to work!
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