While the New Year is always full of people making resolutions, and then subsequently forgetting about those resolutions a few weeks later. We at Cortekx believe in setting resolutions that we can stick to, but the one thing that I have learned is; If you really want a New Year’s resolution to work there is one major thing you need to change about your resolution in order to make it stick, call it a goal.
A resolution is a firm decision to either do, or not do something, a great sentiment, but just saying “I am going to do or not do this,” is a horrible way to make real change. There are no steps, there is no plan, and there definitely isn’t an action plan set in place to make sure that you actually follow through. These are the reasons that, when it comes to the new year, you should set goals and forget the resolutions.
Everyone knows the S.M.A.R.T. goal system; I’m sure you are all like me and have become tired of sitting through seminar after seminar that praise these 5 letters for an hour or so at a time, but that is for a great reason, the S.M.A.R.T. goal system is probably the best way to set goals in business, and in your personal life, so if somehow you are not familiar, or you are like me and zone out every time you hear someone start a talk with, “We need to be smart about our goal setting.” Refresh your S.M.A.R.T knowledge real quick before we move on.
Okay now that you are all caught up on the tried and true way to set real meaningful goals, I want you to remember these three things in order to make sure your goals will actually be reached this New Year.
SET THE GOALS YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT!
No matter how much time you spend on setting goals, making sure you they follow SMART to a “T” (you like what I did there?), your goals will not happen if you don’t have passion for what you are trying to do.
While goals aren’t always going to be something you are going to be passionate about, I have found that tying two goals together can help me get through the things that are necessary. Kind of like not being able to watch TV until your homework is done, set your goals up so you cannot work on the fun goals until you work on the necessary ones.
DON’T LOOK TO FAR AHEAD!
While it is important to have long term goals, I like to have one long term goal that acts as a waypoint for the future. Its out there but I need to concentrate on the terrain closer to my feet. Not focusing on the distant future helps you see the little steps that many people over look when they set long term goals.
Like I just said I like to set my “waypoint” in the future, and then I set smaller goals that drive me in the direction of that landmark. Setting a walkway of goals helps you stay on track, helps you concentrate on the small things that may trip you up, and also gives you the added bonus of being able to reevaluate your direction before you get to far down the road.
DON’T GET DISCOURAGED!
Things don’t always go your way, sometimes your goals aren’t going to get met in the time you allowed. This can be caused by outside influences or, by you just not getting them done, (come on, don’t lie to yourself, it happens to all of us), but just because the goal missed the timeline doesn’t mean that you are done with it. Stay positive about where you are in the journey and evaluate the steps needed to get your goal back on track.
While it is easy to get discouraged when you miss your timelines, having a “waypoint” goal will help you remember your direction, and also give you that much needed reminder of why you are actually doing this in the first place. Sometimes that reminder is the fire that you need to keep moving.
Goals are a very important part of business and life in general, but sadly there isn’t that “magic potion” of goal setting, to make sure you meet your goals. Everyone is different and our brains work in different ways, this is how I set goals and I hope they can help you but I am always happy to learn how others set goals, so let me know over on Twitter what your favorite goal setting techniques are, @Cortekx.