New Year’s Resolutions VS Goal Setting?

Resolutions tend to be intentions born out of this time of the year, a time to reflect. One’s mind tends to dwell on where you went wrong or on those milestones you did not reach. This causes you to make decisions about your life from a negative point of reference and this isn’t a healthy method to move forward. Research shows that only about 8% of those who have a New Year’s resolution are consistently successful. Why then bother with a resolution? The research also shows that people who have resolutions, even if they fail, are still ten times more likely to achieve some form of success. This is because they have established a path they would like to follow, which is more than the person who did not have a resolution.

Successful People Set Goals.

Successful people make decisions and stick to them and unsuccessful people don’t. A resolution is an intention, not a decision, so we don’t monitor and manage it as attentively as a goal. We treat both resolutions and goals more like an event rather than a process.

Goal Setting Areas

Family and relationships
Spiritual
Physical and health
Intellectual and personal development
Recreational and hobbies
Financial
Professional skillsets

6 Steps to Achieve your Goal

Step 1: List All of your Goals.

Choose the one goal you are most committed to. When overcommitting to too many goals a certain paralysis sets in and often nothing gets achieved. The one goal you choose could be the foundation on which to build in other areas of your life.

Step 2: Identify your WHY.

Be clear on your motivation for achieving your goal. Why do you want to reach it?

Step 3: Visualise.

Visualise yourself achieving the goal. See it as a reality to increase the probability of it happening.

Step 4: Create Micro Goals.

Break your goal down into smaller steps and set micro-goals. Celebrate the small achievements to make success a habit.

Step 5: SMART Goals.

S - specific. Be specific when setting goals. Your subconscious mind needs very specific instructions.

M - measurable. If your goal is measurable you will know when you achieve it.

A - attainable. (Action oriented)

R - realistic. When looking at your resources, knowledge and time, is your goal realistic?

T - timeline. Specify a time in which to achieve a goal, otherwise it is just a wish. Too little time will leave the quality lacking and too much time will cause procrastination.

Step 6: Manage your Progress.

Don’t lose focus. Imagine it is an important project and treat it as such.