With February just beginning the thought of sticking with your New Year’s resolutions might sound as appealing as scraping wallpaper off of drywall. It’s understandable why: The vast majority of people make and break their resolutions within a few weeks’ time. They fall back into their old ways, and they convince themselves their resolutions were too hard to keep anyway.
You don’t need to be part of the vast majority. In fact, 2012 can be the year that you separate yourself from the masses and keep every resolution you make.
Here are five ways to help you stay on track:
1. Set realistic objectives.
You probably can’t change jobs, launch a nonprofit organization, revamp your kids’ parent-teacher organization and start a community garden all in one year. You can always keep certain goals on the back burner, but chunk down your goals into just a few that you can realistically meet within a year’s time.
For longer-term goals, such as how to plan for retirement, choose a few to-do items that get you closer to your goals. For example, you can commit to putting more money in your 401(k) and creating a retirement planning guide with your financial planner. Establish time frames that are believable to you, and monitor your progress regularly.
2. Get an accountability partner.
Find someone who has similar goals with whom you can check in frequently. If you want to run a marathon, find a running partner and schedule regular runs. You’ll be more likely to show up for a run if you know someone is waiting for you. Keep track of your progress together, and share the results of your training.
3. Establish a reward system.
Even small rewards will help to keep you motivated. The reward should be tied directly to the goal. So, if you make an extra few hundred bucks in your business, rather than going on a spending spree or blowing every extra dollar on a latte, put some of that money in a savings account that will let you save up for a larger purchase. Post a picture of the item on your refrigerator. You’ll stay motivated to obtain that reward and will work that much harder to get it.
4. Revisit goals as needed.
Your goals may shift with the economy, life changes such as a new home or a new baby, a big move or other key events. Revisit your goals every few months to be sure they still encompass everything you hope to get out of life. Make any necessary tweaks to ensure you achieve the desired outcome.
5. See yourself succeeding.
Use your imagination to visualize yourself with your goals realized. Get a journal and log your thoughts and feelings about your accomplishment. Post photos of images that symbolize your success. Mentally associate with people who have what you want — not the naysayers who doubt your potential.
Bit by bit, you can meet all the goals you set forth in 2012. As long as you commit to specific action steps, you’ll not only keep your New Year’s resolutions, but also finish the year better off than when you started it.
Felicia Gopaul helps consumers understand how to plan for retirement, save for college and plan for the future. With insightful articles and advice featured at FeliciaGopaul.com and College Funding Resource, she offers easy-to-understand tips for consumers seeking better, smarter ways to manage their finances. As part of her New Year’s resolutions, Felicia will be sticking to a new fitness plan, reading motivational books and spending plenty of quality time with her daughters.
Goals should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-Oriented or Time-Sensitive.
They have definite tangible outcomes.
What are goals?
Goals are visions, outcomes, objectives or expectations. There are big goals and small goals. Say you have a goal like ‘I will save $100,000 or (a specific figure in any currency) in the next ten years.’ Sure, it is possible. To reach that goal, you need to find out how much you need to save in a year for the next ten years, how much in a month and how much everyday. You need to make sure that you have the income and the expenses that support your daily goal. If not, extend your time frame or try to increase your income, or reduce your expenses to meet your daily goal.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there”…I read somewhere.
In a business, the executives develop the goals and communicated downwards. Involving all levels of organization enhances communication and increases commitment, dedication, involvement and motivation.
Write it down: It is very important that when you have a goal in your mind, INK it. If it is not written, it is not a goal. It is a dream, a wish and you assume no accountability to make it happen. Only when it is in the written form, it is a commitment, your mind will stay focused, and direct yourself towards the qualities of persistence, commitment and consistency to reach that goal.
Define/Specific: The goal should be specific. It is not, ‘I want to have lot of money in ten years”. What is ‘lot?’ Be specific, so you can divide further to reach daily goal. Goals must be concrete. Vague and ambiguous goals cannot be reached. Years ago, I wanted to buy a home and I was very specific – the price should not exceed $100,000, must have 3 bedrooms, and should not be more than ten miles from my work. After six months of intense search I found a condo fulfilling these conditions. When you’re specific you can narrow it down to exactly what you want, avoid all other distractions and proceed to accomplish it. Goals are specific measurable targets that are designed to clarify expectations, destinations.
Short term goals: Think of them as means to an end. When you have a short term goal aiming towards the long term goal, you see that you’re moving forward everyday. Short term goals eventually culminate to your long term goal because they are measurable. You can monitor the progress. What gets measured gets done. I remember my father had a budget goal and every night before he laid his head on the pillow, he would account for his daily expenses. He monitored it religiously. Goal setting also creates a discipline in you.
One step at a time the baby starts to walk. He doesn’t plan for a mile! Joggers and walkers start slow and go on increasing 15 min every two weeks. Slow and steady wins the race. We all know the story of’ the Hare and the Tortoise’. Keep at it. Don’t quit. “Inch by inch, it’s a Cinch’, said Loe Lionni, the famous children’s book author and a painter from Italy.
Realistic & Attainable: Goals must be realistic and believable. If you don’t believe you can achieve a goal, you won’t pay the price for it. Only when you believe you’ll choose to stay focused and do what you need to do to get it. When I was little, my brother would say, save a penny on the first day and double it daily and in a month you’ll be a millionaire, in fact you’ll have more than five million in 30 days.. This is mathematically fine but is not a realistic goal for a middle class person. First day a penny, second day 2 pennies, third day 4 pennies, fourth day 16 pennies, fifth day 32 pennies, sixth day 64 pennies, seventh day 128 pennies…do you get it? I could have tried for two weeks and repeated again for couple of times…
Goal should encompass are areas of life. Remember to set financial, academic, professional, physical, spiritual and relationship goals. Neither can you do one after the other nor can you get away without growth in another area.. All areas are interdependent. It will create a domino effect. In your life If you pursue higher studies when you’re working full time, make sure you spend few minutes a day with family members to avoid friction in relationship area. I would say balancing all areas of life an art of living. You should be able to achieve little bit of everything everyday.
In 2003, I made sure that I spent couple of hours a week with my old mother every week. It was important for me to spent quality time with her when she was old so that I don’t regret later. I was working long hours, going to school and still I inked an appointment with her every Friday evening and I remember she would look forward to that meeting. Now she is not in this world and I have no regrets. All areas need equal priorities. One is not more important than another. Do not compromise something for another. No goal is impossible.
Time or deadline: Define your goal and decide by when you want it. Deadline is important. We are inherently designed to set and achieve goals. Think about, when you wake up you have your own set of actions that you do like brush your teeth, wash your face, comb your hair, read newspaper or use computer, get to school or work and so on and so forth. You can call them chores, tasks, routine but these are daily goals, have become a habit and over the course of years they are on auto pilot.
On a holiday or weekends, you’ll not do as routinely as work days. Why? Because your brain is programmed to take it easy on holidays and there are no set deadlines. You wake up late, lethargic, may not do the routine things. Basically you slack, another word is relax, (it is ok to do it though) and then at the end of the day, you say ‘Time flies. Didn’t have time to do anything!!” is that true? But you had same number of hours on all days…
On the contrary if you need to attend a wedding or gathering on holidays, things get done and move on to the next goal, which is attend the wedding. This is a simple example.
Same applies to everything. When you have a deadline, you accomplish it. Definitely set up a time limit for your goal.. “Work expands with time” – said Cyril Northcote Parkinson.
Dream big, set goals, INK it and act on it with a definite deadline. You can achieve whatever you want. Nothing is stopping you from reaching your destination except the shackles that you put around you. Remember,
Goal + Timely Action = Desired Results
Awesome Power is an organization committed to encourage, motivate, inspire, coach and support individuals to believe in themselves and reach their fullest potentially in all areas of their life.
The author of this article, Vijaya Jayaraman, is a life coach, motivational speaker, a professional writer, personal coach dedicated to public speaking and writing articles to make a difference in other’s lives. The author is also deeply interested in spiritual studies and believes our life is the consequences of our own actions and that the spiritual study is the way for inner peace. We are on this earth to realize that all is ONE and that ONE is in all.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vijaya_Jayaraman
Have you heard the phrase before that you are the creator of your reality? When I first heard that, I thought it was a fascinating idea, but I never understood how the process actually works in reality until I came across the idea of setting intentions for myself. Everyday this process amazes me and the results are so exciting.
I’ve shared this insight with several of my clients and came across the same question. What is the difference between setting an intention and setting a goal? There is a subtle distinction between these two that makes a huge difference in the outcome and in the experience.
When we’re setting a goal, we think realistically. We analyze our current situation and plan out steps on how to reach our goal. Setting goals is based on reasoning and creating a plan. Setting a goal is very cognitive process of analyzing, planning and reasoning. We are in control of the plan and of all the steps how to get there. But as you know life comes between you and your goals sometimes. Something happens and you can’t do what you had scheduled. It is hard to stay on track because there are so many distractions. Can you identify with this?
There is another way of getting to where you want to be. Setting an intention is a similar process like setting a goal, but the difference is that you don’t plan out the way how to get there. You just intend the outcome and surrender the process to the universe. It is like making a wish. One requirement that the intention has is that it comes from your heart. It has to be something you really want. It does not come from the reasonable you but from the alive you. It is not created out of fear but our of love. If you’re aware of the battle inside of you between the heart and the mind you know that many times what the heart wishes for the mind destroys with many reasons.
Setting an intention is like setting the reasons on the side for a while and just intending with your heart the outcome of certain situations that would be exciting and inspiring for you. Try it out with little things first.
- Think of the day/week/trip ahead of you. What are some of the situations you will be facing?
- How would you like the outcome of these situations to be for them to be exciting and inspiring for you? Don’t worry if you don’t know how it could happen. Just think of what’s the most exciting outcome.
- Intend it, write it down, put it in safe place and then let it go. Release it in your heart to the universe and don’t worry about how it will happen. Just know that the process will be successful. Then you can go about your life having fun and not stressing about every step.
Seems so easy right? It is that easy, but some of the challenges that come up for people with setting intentions are really knowing what it is they want and letting go of the control over the process of reaching the outcome.
What is it that you really want? We have so many thoughts and reasons in our heads, influenced by the constant influx of information, people’s opinions, self-judgment and other factors. Sometimes it can be hard to know if we want something because we want it or because someone else said we should want it. So how do you know the difference between the two?
There is a simple tool to figure out what is your real desire and what is your “I should.” What you want and desire is exciting and inspiring. It comes right out of your being. What you “should” causes stress, anxiety and even depression. It comes from a judgment of how things should be rather than your creative self. So if you are setting an intention or a goal stop and really listen to your emotions. Your emotions and your heart, not your mind, is your guide to know what is right. If something feels right you’ll know right away.
Another challenge is letting go of control. We are so used to thinking that we are in control of our lives. We fear the unknown and create safety nets around us preventing us from falling down. These safety nets become so tight that pretty soon we feel like we’re stuck in the reality we created. But we are afraid of letting go because even though they choke us to death we know they are safe. Does that sound familiar? We want to be in control of every step on our way to our goals and this creates a lot of stress if things don’t go as planned. Letting go of control is about trusting that the universe will fulfill your intentions.
In the beginning it can be very hard, especially with our skeptical mind and all the reasons that it creates. But as you try this process more and more your trust in the goodness of the universe will grow. You won’t be feeling like you’re taking risks by letting go of your safety nets and you will understand that life is a great adventure and fun. Letting go of control creates space in your life where the magic happens. Then there is no more stress, no more worry. There is only peace and lots of love.
So get out there and start creating your life! Set some extraordinary intentions for yourself and enjoy the ride!
by Sarka Ruzickova
Visit her at http://sarkaruzickova.com/
Why Set Goals?
“Life’s a long, long journey” so we are told, and most of us would not set off on a journey, even a short one, without some idea of where we wanted to go. Yet many people travel on life’s journey with no sense of direction at all.
They travel the by-ways and highways of life taking side roads, detours, even re-tracing their tracks from time to time, and while they may have exciting experiences on their journey, while they may meet interesting fellow-travellers, learn a great deal and see some pretty scenery, they may also be disappointed when they reach their final destination in life.
On the other hand, those life travellers who do have a clear knowledge of where they want to go, who can point themselves in the right direction, and who know when they want to arrive, travel as the Romans did, in straight lines and with great efficiency.
Most of us have careers to think of, futures to secure, people to provide for, things to do. We need maps! We need direction. We need an itinerary. In other words, we need to set ourselves goals.
Goal setting is a very powerful technique that can yield strong returns in all areas of your life.
Benefits of personal goal setting:
- Clear and focused direction giving a sense of security and purpose.
- Maximum use of time.
- Enthusiasm is high for what you want.
- Moving steadily towards and achieving the results you really want and ultimate success.
- Boosted self-esteem, confidence and belief in your ability to make things happen and feel in control.
Research (Damon Burton, 1983) has shown that people who use goal setting effectively:
- suffer less from stress and anxiety
- concentrate better
- show more self-confidence
- perform better
- are happier and more satisfied.
Choosing Your Personal Goals
When you are developing your goals, you’ll want to give yourself a peaceful environment so you can brainstorm. And, you do want to brainstorm, which means: you write it ALL down, and you throw out nothing, no matter how ridiculous it sounds. When you try to mix brainstorming and practicality, you always lose the benefit of brainstorming. You’ll have time later to be practical with your list.
To learn rules of writing your goals down click here
Sometime during this brainstorming exercise, you ought to do like Steven Covey recommends and visualize your funeral. What would be said about you if it were held today, and how does that differ from what you really want to be said about you? Did you leave your family with a financial situation that you really want them to have? From my own experience, I mustily sadly suggest that you also visualize the funeral of your dearest loved ones. You may think you are being as good to your family as you can be, but I assure you that you will wish you had done far more for them if you lose one of them.
Dream of everything you want, and have always wanted in every facet of your life.
Consider what you would do if you had no limitations. Consider what you would do, be, have if money and health (for example) were not obstacles for you. Also, think about the people you admire and what it is that they have, do, and are that you want to emulate. Note that you might even want to consider one of these people to be your mentor, to help you think through these areas (at least partly), and to tell you what he/she has found to be effective for them.
One convenient way of creating your list of goals is to fill in the blanks under the following categories:
- What you want to BE
- What you want to DO
- What you want to HAVE
- What you want to GIVE
- What you Don’t want to BE, DO, HAVE, and GIVE
Click here to learn how to make your personal goals S.M.A.R.T.
To give a broad coverage of all important areas in your life, try to set goals in all of the following categories:
Financial and Career
Do you enjoy your work? Do you feel you are making a contribution to society? Are you living up to your potential? Have you achieved a satisfactory standard of living? Have you planned for your children’s education? What about your own retirement?
Social and Cultural
Does your circle of friends enrich your life and contribute to your sense of fulfillment and well-being? Is there at least one other person with whom you can discuss important life experiences? Do you have interests outside of your career and family (e.g., sports, theater, outdoor events)?
Spiritual and Ethical
Have you ever articulated specific personal values to yourself? Are you living up to those personal values? Is religion important to you? If so, are you happy with the way you are practicing your religion? If not, have you reconciled your relationship with a higher power or with the universe in general?
Family and Home
Have you realized your dream in terms of your home and family relationships? Be sure to use your own personal standards rather than society’s standards.
Mental and Educational
Did you accomplish the educational goals you set for yourself following high-school graduation? Are you still growing and learning? Do you invest in your continuing education on a regular basis?
Physical and Health
How satisfied are you with your current level of physical health? Are you living up to your own standards in terms of diet and exercise? Are you fit enough to do the things you want to do?
Once you’ve brainstormed your list of goals (which you may want to do over the course of a couple of days or weeks), then you can play Mr./Ms. Practical with the list and weed out the ones that just don’t make sense. One way of thinning out the list is to ask, for each goal, “Why do I want this and what good will it really accomplish?” When you find a goal that doesn’t have a good answer to this question, you’ve found a goal you can toss.
Also, as you go over your list of goals, you ought to think about how to prioritize them. Not all goals are going to be equally important. You can prioritize them by area (Personal, Family, Spiritual, Professional, Financial, so forth), with each area having a Priority 1 and a 2 and … Or, you can prioritize them absolutely, with respect for area, as 1 through 109 (or whatever). I vote for prioritizing by area, since priorities change too much as your life circumstances change. (It’s a lot easier to make minor mods to one or more areas than to have to redo your whole list of priorities based on changes in your circumstances and preferences.)
Be sure to set big goals as well as multiple goals. Big goals force you to reach in and use the potential that is inside of you. Long-range goals help you to overcome short-range failures. They can also help you to change your direction without going back on your decision.
Whether or not they ever reach the goals they have set, people who set big, long-range goals have been found to have higher self-confidence, higher self-esteem, and greater personal motivation. The bottom line is that more than half the rewards and benefits achieved from goal-setting comes from actually taking your first step in that direction, regardless of the consequences.
Develop The Plan
Then, it’s time to buckle down to turn the list into action steps.
Decide which goals are to be long-term goals and which are to be short-term and which fall somewhere in between. Then, starting with your short-term goals, visualize what it will take for you to accomplish the goal. This will help you in breaking the goal down into steps. Of course, you also need to set deadlines for each of these goals (and steps).
If any of your goals address making a change of habit, you should note that many researchers have found that it takes about 21 days to change a habit. You’ll want to factor this into your planning. Also, when changing a habit, you’ll want to find ways to give yourself positive reinforcement for making changes.
There is a very simple five step process that you can go through to set any goal whether personal or professional. To be effective, the goal you choose must include all five of the following steps:
- Identify your goal by writing it down
- Set a deadline for the achievement.
- List the obstacles to overcome in accomplishing your goal.
- List the skills and knowledge required to reach your goal. What do you need to know?
- Develop a plan of action to reach your goal.
Staying On Track
Once you have decided your first goal plans, keep the process going by reviewing and updating your to-do list on a daily basis. Some people recommend doing this as the last thing done the day before, others as the first thing done in the morning – this is up to you. Periodically review your other plans, and modify them to reflect your changing priorities.
Constantly Evaluate Your Progress
Having an action plan is not enough. The captain will have to constantly evaluate his progress in order to be sure he is on target. Unforeseen obstacles are sure to arise, such as a hailstorm, or increased southerly winds. As a result, he may have to increase his speed or guide the boat in a more westerly direction. In other words, notice what is working and what is not. If an approach is not working, don’t waste your time with it. Change your approach.
Never Lose Sight of Your Goal
Take the time to review your goals every morning when you get up and every night before you go to bed. This will keep them fresh in your mind. If you think reviewing your goals twice a day is too much to ask, maybe you should reevaluate what it is you want. Ask yourself, “How important is it to me that I attain my goals?”
Don’t Procrastinate
Procrastination is a “silent killer”. Understand that the only way to achieve your goals is to take action! Knowledge means nothing if you don’t apply it. How many people have you come across with an unbelievable amount of education working a mediocre job? The world is full of people who don’t apply their knowledge. On the other hand, chances are you know of people with less educational background who apply everything they learn. These people are usually the ones who are most successful in all areas of their lives.
Do something right now that will help you to achieve your goals. There is no time like the present! Get the ball rolling. Each step you take brings you one step closer to the life you want.
Remember the motto, “The road to Someday, leads to the town of Nowhere”. Someday is today!
Finally, you ought to have your key goals in front of you on a regular basis. You should look at them at least weekly to ensure you are making progress and to see if you need to modify your plans in anyway.
There are various ways of accomplishing this periodic review and planning activity. A simple one is to have a memo set up on your Palm or PocketPC in which you have listed your key goals, so that you can review the memo periodically. Of course, you should also have ToDo items set up for each of these key goals.
Another way of organizing your goals is to use a project planner or a database manager.
Achieving Goals
When you have achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so. Absorb the implications of the goal achievement, and observe the progress you have made towards other goals. If the goal was a significant one, reward yourself appropriately.
With the experience of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans:
- If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goals harder
- If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goals a little easier
- If you learned something that would lead you to change other goals, do so
- If while achieving the goal you noticed a deficit in your skills, decide whether to set goals to fix this.
Failure to meet goals does not matter as long as you learn from it. Feed lessons learned back into your goal-setting program.
Remember too that your goals will change as you mature – adjust them regularly to reflect this growth in your personality. If goals do not hold any attraction any longer, then let them go. Goal-setting is your servant, not your master – it should bring you real pleasure, satisfaction and a sense of achievement.
More often than not when people learn about all the projects I manage at once, and notice that I actually COMPLETE them… they always ask me the same question, “How do you get all this stuff done?” For me, it boils down to a simple process that I go through every time I set a goal for myself. Whether the goal is to get in better shape (like losing 4 pounds in the last 10 days), launch a new program, create a new website, meet a particular expert or publish a book… the process is always the same.
Now, before I share my process with you, let me assure you that “I” don’t get all this stuff done. I do some of it, and my fantastic (and growing) team does the rest. Many people are shocked to find out that I rarely work on Fridays, don’t work on weekends and still have plenty of time to go to the gym six times per week, cook for my family and play with my daughter (Hi-Ho-Cherry-O is her favorite game). And, I take at least two vacations a year, not including a whole bunch of weekend family trips. For me, this is the only way to run a business… so that it doesn’t run you.
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