The Silver Bullet for Effective Goal Setting

Did you know statistics show that while roughly 45% of adults make New Year’s resolutions, 92% fail to achieve their resolutions? ^[1] In fact, most abandon ship in as little as six months! However, there is hope for the resolution-breakers…

People who take the time to explicitly set goals and resolutions are ten times more likely to attain them than those who don’t make the effort. ^[2]

Please download my newly redesigned and popular Goal Setting Workbook FREE by <clicking here>.

In a previous blog posts I suggested you…

• Pause and reflect by asking, “Where have I been? and “Where am I now?”

• Then start thinking and asking yourself “Where am I going?”

“If you don’t know where you are going…

…any path will get you there,

…but you won’t realize if you’re lost,

…you won’t know what time you’ll arrive,

…you won’t know the dimensions of your challenge,

…others won’t understand how they could help,

…and since you could pass right by without recognizing it,

…you won’t get the satisfaction of having arrived!” – Jim Lundy

Plan

The following three questions can help you determine and clarify your goals:

What do I want to happen? (Accomplishments)

• Specific – Your goals must identify exactly what you want to accomplish.

• Action – Your goals should lead to an action verb.

• Realistic – Remember you are looking for progress not perfection. Your goals should be challenging and should stretch you. You should use common sense toward the results you want to achieve.

How will I know it happened? (Measurement, for example “to lose five pounds”)

• Measurable – You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Be specific of the results you desire.

• Celebrate – You must know when you hit a goal so you can celebrate and reward yourself.

When do I want this to happen? (Starting date, completion date)

• Time-Bound – A goal without a date is just a pipe-dream. Make sure that every goal has a start date and completion date because, “what gets scheduled gets done”.

• Staggered Dates – Pick a couple of your goals to start in January. Then, perhaps quarterly, begin working on a couple more goals. This staggered schedule helps you intensify your focus AND prevent burn-out.

• Reviews – Regularly review progress so that you stay on course. And celebrate even the smallest mile-stones.

Write It Down

Actually writing down your goals is an important step. There is something that emotionally connects us to our goals when we write them down.

The Silver Bullet: You are 42% more likely to achieve your goals, simply by writing them down!^[3]

Set aside time to write a goal for each of the following seven life areas:

• Spiritual

• Health/Physical Well-Being

• Family/Spouse

• Work/Career

• Personal Growth

• Social/Friends/Community

• Financial

Why don’t you get started? The hardest part of any important task is getting started. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you will be naturally motivated to continue.

A part of your mind loves to be busy working on significant tasks that can really make a difference. Your job is to feed this part of your mind continually.

Get started!!! You will accomplish vastly more than the average person. And you’ll be much happier as a result.

I’ve developed a simple way to help you identify and record your goals for 2015! I walk you through three simple steps in my Goal Setting Workbook. It’s FREE to download by “clicking here”.

Could you share what have been your experiences when you wrote down your goals versus when you didn’t? Click <here> to share your thoughts in my comment section.

 

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Footnotes

1. University of Scranton: Journal of Clinical Psychology : 1/1/2014 : via Statistic Brain
2. University of Scranton: Journal of Clinical Psychology : 1/1/2014 : via Statistic Brain
3. Dominican University of California: Goal Study : Dr. Gail Matthews PH.D