It’s that time of year again when many of us struggle with our resolutions. I’m not going to talk about resolutions here because it’s become somewhat of a cliche: No sooner do we set them, then we start identifying ways we are breaking them.

I’d rather talk about setting goals and offer a suggestion (or two) on how to attain them.  This won’t be a one stop solution & will require work. So if you are looking for a magic pill to take one time, you can stop reading now.  But if you want a simplified technique to follow, you might find it here. So read on.

Many people confuse resolutions with goal setting. I believe they are very different from each other. Typical resolutions are very specific such as:

• quit smoking/drinking
• lose 20lbs
• Get a new job, etc.

Goal setting should be more general in nature such as:

• Adopt a healthy lifestyle
• Slim down and tone up
• Become prosperous doing something I love.

The more general the goal the better and the more successful you will be at attaining it. Let me explain…  You want to quit smoking & throw away your cigarettes at midnight on New Years Eve. Maybe you are successful for a day or two or even a week. Then something stressful happens and you head out to buy a pack and light up.  Resolution broken, you have failed once more.  Why bother trying again?

If you have a more general goal to attain such as adopting a healthier lifestyle, you can gradually ‘work up to’ that final cigarette. It will just be one step to take in this journey.  A healthy lifestyle also includes eating better, exercising more and reducing or eliminating consumption of unhealthy chemicals such as tobacco and alcohol.  You can work one one aspect at a time and realize a sense of accomplishment. Your accomplishments will spur you on instead of bursting your bubble and adding one more failure to the list.

Here’s a recommended process for setting and attaining goals:

1. Set no more than three or four general goals
2. Write them down
3. Read the list every morning and make a general plan of what you’d like to do during the day to progress towards the goal.  Write this down and carry it with you.
4. Refer to your list over lunch.
5. Journal your progress daily in the late afternoon or early evening

Making a list of these goals and tracking your progress is very important in goal setting.  It gives you a daily sense of accomplishment.  I recommend charting your progress late afternoon or early evening because it gives you time to complete some task related to one or more of these goals in case you had a busy day and/or forgot to review the list at midday.

For example:

Your goal is to ‘Slim down and tone up”

You had a busy day and couldn’t make time to get to the gym but you still have time to go for a power walk or do some aerobics and/or floor exercises.

Here’s a Goal Setting Journal illustration:

Goals:

1. Slim down and tone up
2. Become prosperous doing something I love

Day 1

1. Worked out at the gym including 45 mins on the treadmill
2. Attended a networking meeting

Day 2

1. Took a 3 mile power walk
2. Bought a book on building websites

Day 3

1. Upper body workout at the gym and 30 mins on the treadmill
2. Read two chapters of website building book, found and watched various Youtube videos.

Day 4

1. Oops, I didn’t do anything – You can reverse this by doing 15 or 20 minutes of cardio at home such as squats, jumping jacks or taking a power walk.
2. Connected with Steve Jones from networking meeting and discussed setting up a blog on WordPress.

So there you have it. If you’re serious about making changes in your life get started with this today and share your progress with the group in the comment section.

Iliaiwi!