Leslie Gail, Author and Life Coach
Goals are great if they are the right goals and if you are prepared on how to achieve them. This time of year millions of people are writing down resolutions, even though only a small fraction of those people will succeed. I have learned over the years the secret formula to setting and achieving goals in your life. As a lifestyle expert, author of the book Life Simplified-A weekly guide to achieving a life you love, and MomTV webshow host my life revolves around helping others create their best life. And a critical piece of this is clarifying goals and then creating a road map to achieve them. I am going to offer some simple and practical tools to get you started in 2010.
Create goals you want to achieve
Year after year people write down the same goals. Most goals are ones you think you should achieve instead of the goals you really want to achieve. If you “think” you should lose weight, or if you “think” you should quit smoking, or if you “think” you should start meditating, you are simply setting yourself up to fail. Make sure you come up with goals that inspire you! Come up with goals that are motivating and positive and you will improve your chances of achieving them. Throw away a goal if you have had it year after year without succeeding.
Write them down and share it with others
One surefire way to achieve your goals this year is to write them down and share them with others. Get out a journal and write down specifically what you would like to achieve this year. Don’t be vague here. Writing down losing weight is too general and hard to achieve. Be as specific as possible. Use the SMART tool- Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time sensitive. By sharing your goals with others, you are adding the accountability factor. Others will help you stay on track.
Detail the plan
People often fail because of this missing element. If you want to drive from Los Angeles to New York, you need a road map to get you there. The same applies to your goals. You need a specifically laid out map that details how to get from where you are today to where you ultimately want to go. Do your research and take the time to complete this step. You will be much more prepared to venture out there this time around. If you need a little help with this step you can contact me for guidance at leslie@newlifefocus.com
Exercises to get started on right now: Buy a journal and write down the goals you truly want to embark on. Share this goal with friends and/or family. Write down specifically what you are going to do daily/weekly/monthly to get you there. Good luck!!
Angela’s Note – Tomorrow we are going to take Leslie’s mention of creating specific plans to the next level and break down how to do that. Meanwhile, please do the suggested action step – what are your goals? Are they YOUR goals? Inspired just for you?
This is worded perfectly–I am a huge goal setter but really find myself failing in the follow-through. With placing my marks to reach so high, I usually throw in the towel when the next step isn’t automatically apparent. Its all about being concise and planning for ones own time constraints.
Thank you so much for such a well thought out post.
Sara
I just wanted to share something I came across today. If this doesn’t jog your what’s-my-dream Imagination, then I don’t know what will.
Well, am getting in a little late on this but still wanted to share my goals for the year -
Write 10 articles for Suite, 4 for UTH or Untrained Housewife, 4 for Hubpages
Blog post thrice
Take on limited private client work since focus is on residual income this year. I tend to say Yes to everyone and then, end up feeling swamped.
Take my blog – http//themomwrites.blogspot.com to PR 6 from a PR 4 and have at least 200 subscribers
Start a new blog. Take it to PR 3 before year-end.
Write an ebook on organizing and one on baby care.
Get into my pre-pregnancy clothes. In other words, shed 20 pounds!
Bake once a week (will not allow said 20 pounds to melt but can practice self-control:-))
Walk/Yoga daily
Move to a better apartment building.
Then, there are the smaller goals of organizing home, making new friends, renewing old friendships as well as my personal Buddhism goals.
So, yeah, have my work cut out for me this year.
@Erica – I too am horrible at “resolutions” and tend to make new goals whenever I take on a new project.
@Sara I’m glad you found this post helpful! I love Leslie’s talks on MomTV and am often inspired by what she shares.
@Prerna – Your goals sound great! Very specific and details. Think about your “shed 20 pounds” and check out the Day 3 post. What will it take to “shed 20 pounds”. Drinking water instead of soda? Walking daily is a great start! Think about what other SMALL and realistic lifestyle changes will help you meet your goals.