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The
Truth About Goal Setting and Making New Years
Resolutions
by Julie Broad
I've
never been one for New Year's
resolutions. To me, they are like a
fad. Something that is all the rage
for a short period of time, and then
gone so fast it's like they never
existed at all. How many times have
you heard or even given the half
hearted declaration to lose weight,
quit smoking or change
jobs? That's not
goal
setting, that's wishing.
I believe
the best time to make changes is
today, no matter what day of the
year that is. I don't wait for tomorrow
to start if I have decided to do
something. And I certainly wouldn't wait
for a new year to begin goal setting.
Once I set my goals, I review the goals
on a regular basis, adjust them, adjust
the plan and then keep moving forward.
Things don't always work out according to
plan (one of my goals for 2007 was to buy
one more property - which didn't happen
for many reasons), but I don't stop
making goals; I just adjust and move
forward.
I have been reading a
great blog by an individual who sets his
goals in writing on his blog and checks
in regularly with his readers to talk
about how he is doing. He's made some
great comments in the last few months on
how to set goals, celebrate success and
re-evaluate the goals you aren't
achieving. Check it out at How to be an original.
Maybe you're convinced and you want to get
started on your goals, but you just don't know
how to start. To get your goal setting
rolling:
- Start with a fresh
page, and write "Life Time Goals" at
the top of the
page.
- Under
"Life Time Goals" I write the most
important one or two health goals, wealth
goals and "ME" goals. For the "ME" goals, I
have things like "Become fluent in
Spanish".
- Underneath the lifetime
goals, write "Five Year Goals: Achieve by
the end of 2012". I look at where I am
going overall in my life, and figure out
what I have to do in the next five years to
get there.
- Finally,
on the back of that sheet of paper or on
page 2 in my document, I write "Goals for
2008", and I write in fine detail with
dates and measurements, what I am going to
do in 2008 that will move me towards
achieving my five year
goals.
To give you an example,
let me expand on my personal development
goal of becoming fluent in Spanish. Under
my 5 Year Goals, I want to spend at least
one month in a spanish speaking country
studying spanish. To move towards that in
2008, you might think that I plan to take
a spanish class, but I have found that I
don't learn languages well in a class.
The best way for me to learn is immerse
myself in it. I remember it better and
enjoy it more. So, in 2008, I am working
on building passive streams of income so
that in a few years I can take time off
from work and focus on my spanish
language skills. My exact goal is
actually split up into the areas that I
will earn passive "revenue" from, and how
much. As I prefer to keep the exact
details private, I will just make up an
example. In 2008, I will be earning a
minimum of $100/month after tax and
expenses from my real estate investments,
$100/month off of my cookbook website and
cookbook sales, and $100/month off of
interest from my bank account. Under each
of the above, I have the things I am
going to try or I am going to do to
achieve those results. It's only a page
long but it gives me direction and I know
what I need to do next.
Get the picture? So, if
you haven't already, take a few minutes,
sit down and figure out what you want
from your life. Then figure out what you
will need to do in the next five years to
get there. And most importantly, write
down what you are going to do in
2008. Be sure to make your goal(s)
specific and measurable so you can track
your progress!
Here's some
quotes to get you in the mind set for
your goal setting:
- "If
what you are doing is not moving you toward
your goals, then it's moving you away from
your goals."
Anonymous
- "If
you do not change direction, you may end up
where you are heading." Lao
Tzu
- "Have you noticed
that even the busiest people are never too
busy to take time to tell you how busy they
are?" Bob Talbert
- "Many a false step
was made by standing still." Fortune
Cookie
- "Have a bias toward
action -- let's see something happen now.
You can break that big plan into small
steps and take the first step right away."
Indira Gandhi.
Here's to a wonderful and
prosperous 2008.
Published on February
21, 2008
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