So it’s that time of year when we all think about setting ourselves some new year resolutions – New Year, New You - but how many of us fail to achieve our new resolutions, and give up after more than a few weeks. How many of us start that new diet, exercise programme, job hunt, house search etc, and never achieve the thing we desired when the clock struck midnight and we thought it was a great idea?
The key to maintaining your momentum is motivation and goal setting.
Motivation
In order to achieve everything you have ever wanted you need to find your WHY. Your deepest desires, hopes and dreams need to be clear and so intense you can visualise them. Imagine yourself achieving them, and all the good things that will follow. For example, it’s not enough to wish for a new car. You need to visualise your new car – what colour is it? What make is it? Imagine it sitting on your drive? What does it feel like to drive it? The stronger the desire, the more action orientated the goal will be.
Goal setting
Ok, so now you have your dreams and desires for the year ahead. You can imagine reaching out and touching them, but they are a long way off – so now you need to set your goals.
If it’s that easy, what doesn’t everyone set goals? People don’t set goals for many reasons:
They don’t think they are important – they don’t understand how important writing down goals, visualising your dreams and planning the steps to reach them is in keeping you motivated and moving forwards.
They don’t know how – many people have never considered this aspect when setting new year resolutions and as such never researched how to set the perfect goal.
Fear of failure – sometimes we dream so big we don’t ever think it’s possible to achieve. We think that’s it too far out of our reach and if we tried we would fail, therefore, why try? I love the saying “Reach for the moon, if you fail you will still be among the stars”
Fear of rejection – successful people hear 'No' all the time, the difference is they are not afraid of their reaction to it. They know that statistically that for every 'No' they get, they will eventually get a ‘Yes’, so they don’t take the 'No' personally.
Characteristics of a good goal
Intense - It should be want you really want, the intensity of achieving your goal should make you happy.
Clear and specific – it should have a childlike clarity about it i.e. you can explain it to a child and they understand it perfectly.
Measureable and quantifiable – how do you know you have achieved you goal if you can’t measure it, for example, if you want to lose weight, your goal should be to lose 1 stone in 6 weeks.
Believable and achievable – you can’t lose 3 stone in a week, or climb mount Everest in a day! Be realistic in what you can achieve and when. This doesn’t mean you can’t dream big, just understand this will take some time to achieve bigger goals.
Harmony – your goals should not go against your values and beliefs. What I mean here is if you value family time, a goal which takes you away from your family for long periods will go against your values and your inner conflict will not make you happy.
You hold the key
Remember, you become what you think about every day, so in summary
Write down your goals everyday
Set deadlines
Trust the process
Visualise
You can now make a choice, and choose to take charge of your life.
Think big, dream big.
Wishing you every success for the year ahead and beyond.
related posts: Are your thoughts holding you back?