Isn’t this quite the opposite of what you hear this time of year? Everyone talking about New Year’s Resolutions, new year goals, better health, better this and better that…blah blah blah.
That’s the problem, it is so much blabber. It’s a feed through social networks and one everyone feels they must stay up on. Sure, you can set one or set some. But what are the chances you (and most everyone) stay the course of that resolution? Is it really a goal? How much thought went into it? Any planning?
I am a firm believer in self-improvement and goal setting is an integral part of that. But goal setting is more than words, more than telling the world you want to do something. It requires planning, thought, accountability and in reality the SMART concepts you’ve heard of.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timely
What relates to New Year’s Resolutions is the ‘T’ for Timely. Setting a goal with a year long timeline allows for too much delay and procrastination, quite likely not realistic goals (too challenging thinking you have a year), and the gratification of achievement is not had. I could go on. But think about it…whether you’re in school, in your work or business….everything is in smaller and more achievable timelines and measurements. Mid-term, Quarterly financials, etc. There is a reason for that. You have to be able to maneuver and adjust quickly to meet the goal yet be able to realize the goal is had and celebrate it. If you never achieve a goal or get to celebrate it, you might feel unaccomplished or perhaps like you failed. But maybe the failure all along was how you set up the goal in the first place. It may not have been you that failed and not necessarily that the goal was a bad one. It was the goal planning.
I encourage you rethink the New Year’s Resolution….if anything, resolve to get better at goal setting. Be SMART with the goal setting… and think deeply about the timeline. Habit formation takes time. But it can be done!
