By Valerie Hayes
So there you are, parked on the couch, feeling like it's time to make a change, making an abstract list of goals for a new you. You’re determined not to let opportunity pass you by, but honestly you’re feeling a little stuck. Here are seven simple steps to help you get unstuck and on the way to success.
1. Pick a goal you’re passionate about. Identify something that would make you happier or your life easier every single day. Maybe it’s something you’ve always dreamed of doing or something that really annoys you on a daily basis. If you’re really passionate about your resolution you’re more likely to stick to that goal for the long haul.
2. Take action today. Right now, absolutely right now, write down three actions you can take to help you meet your new goal. Taking immediate action will not only get you off the couch, but it will help you feel in control of your destiny.
3. Get yourself an expert. Find a coach, buy a book, research the Internet, get an instructional CD, or ask a friend. Find someone who knows more about the topic of your goal than you do and learn as much as you can. Information really is power.
4. Take baby steps. Often we are so anxious to get to our goal that we have unrealistic expectations. Most people overestimate what they can get done in a week, but underestimate what they can accomplish in a year. Break your goal down into baby steps and get started. Just like learning to walk, once you get your footing your confidence will increase and you will naturally gain speed.
5. Do your best impression of a tortoise. Not only should you take baby steps, but just keep taking them over, and over, and over. There are moments when you’ll be discouraged; hang in there. Always keep moving towards your goal. When it comes to getting unstuck, slow and steady really does win the race.
6. Keep your goals visible and visualize your goals. Write down you new goal and put it somewhere where you can see it on a regular basis. (I print my goals out in a caligraphy font and put them in a beautiful gold frame in my office.) Every time you read the note, visualize yourself in a specific situation having achieved your goal. Imagine how excited you will feel when you’ve finally arrived. It’s no coincidence that 90% of medal-winning Olympic athletes practice visualization of their goals. If it works for them, it can work for you too.
7. Surround yourself with a support network. Tell family and friends about your new goal. Make sure you only tell people that you think will be supportive, not “doomsday” friends. Successful people surround themselves with other successful people. It’s a positive cycle you can use to your advantage.
Okay, so back away from the computer, pry yourself off the chair, get started with #1 and just keep on going. Just keep on chipping away and don't stop until you've accomplished your goals and created your own personal vision of success!
Valerie Hayes is an entrepreneur who survived a corporate layoff by starting her own consulting practice using only cash on hand, her laptop computer, and readily available resources. Within two years she had matched her corporate salary, was writing for national magazines, and was featured on MTV. She accomplished all this while working a part-time schedule from her home office! Now she offers her simple strategies to others looking to create their own vision of success. Please visit her website at HayesSuccess.com.
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Showing posts with label MQ- Goal Setting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MQ- Goal Setting. Show all posts
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
HOW TO MAKE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS STICK
By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
At the beginning of each year so many of us commit to changes and worthy goals to be accomplished in the next twelve months only to be disappointed come next December 31 when we discover we are no closer to achieving those resolutions than we were on January 1.
The noble resolutions we made early on became unstuck. So I looked at this dilemma and created four useful suggestions to increase the probability that your New Year’s resolutions will stick this year.
1. Quantify it. Sometimes we are just too vague about what we want. Therefore, a resolution such as, “I want to lose weight this year” will probably fail. It is too vague. How much weight? Be specific. What would your ideal weight be, less what do you weigh now, is what you are going after. It is not enough to resolve that; “I want enough money in the bank this year”. Quantify. What specific amount would soothe your soul?
2. Set a deadline. Resolutions that are to be achieved “as soon as possible” wind up in the heap of “Someday I’ll”. Deadlines are commitments. Without a deadline as a self-imposed pressure point, getting started is easily postponed. You see, deadlines put us on the line and define when failure occurs.
Deadlines also help us to break the resolution down into little bite-sized pieces. For example, if your goal is to lose 25 pounds by June 30, that translates into approximately 4 pounds per month, one pound per week, or a daily reduction of caloric intake (or an increase in daily caloric burn) of just 500 calories per day. Now that’s manageable. 500 calories a day is easy to achieve. 25 pounds seems like a leap across the Grand Canyon.
Until we quantify our goal, set a deadline, then break it down to its daily requirements, the resolution will forever seem unattainable.
3. Change one or two things at a time. We generally do not like change in the first place. We seek the familiar and avoid the strange. The more change you put yourself through, the higher the probability your campaign will collapse.
Focus in on one or two of the more important resolutions you seek to accomplish this year. When you achieve one or the other, start on the next one. Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much change all at once.4. Be realistic. There’s just something about the start of a new year that gets us all wound up for changes in our lives, sometimes extraordinary and unrealistic changes. We become much like the child in the candy store whose eyes are bigger than his stomach.
Be realistic. You can only accomplish a certain amount within a period of time. Don’t saddle yourself with unrealistic resolutions that will only spell failure later on.
At the beginning of each year so many of us commit to changes and worthy goals to be accomplished in the next twelve months only to be disappointed come next December 31 when we discover we are no closer to achieving those resolutions than we were on January 1.
The noble resolutions we made early on became unstuck. So I looked at this dilemma and created four useful suggestions to increase the probability that your New Year’s resolutions will stick this year.
1. Quantify it. Sometimes we are just too vague about what we want. Therefore, a resolution such as, “I want to lose weight this year” will probably fail. It is too vague. How much weight? Be specific. What would your ideal weight be, less what do you weigh now, is what you are going after. It is not enough to resolve that; “I want enough money in the bank this year”. Quantify. What specific amount would soothe your soul?
2. Set a deadline. Resolutions that are to be achieved “as soon as possible” wind up in the heap of “Someday I’ll”. Deadlines are commitments. Without a deadline as a self-imposed pressure point, getting started is easily postponed. You see, deadlines put us on the line and define when failure occurs.
Deadlines also help us to break the resolution down into little bite-sized pieces. For example, if your goal is to lose 25 pounds by June 30, that translates into approximately 4 pounds per month, one pound per week, or a daily reduction of caloric intake (or an increase in daily caloric burn) of just 500 calories per day. Now that’s manageable. 500 calories a day is easy to achieve. 25 pounds seems like a leap across the Grand Canyon.
Until we quantify our goal, set a deadline, then break it down to its daily requirements, the resolution will forever seem unattainable.
3. Change one or two things at a time. We generally do not like change in the first place. We seek the familiar and avoid the strange. The more change you put yourself through, the higher the probability your campaign will collapse.
Focus in on one or two of the more important resolutions you seek to accomplish this year. When you achieve one or the other, start on the next one. Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much change all at once.4. Be realistic. There’s just something about the start of a new year that gets us all wound up for changes in our lives, sometimes extraordinary and unrealistic changes. We become much like the child in the candy store whose eyes are bigger than his stomach.
Be realistic. You can only accomplish a certain amount within a period of time. Don’t saddle yourself with unrealistic resolutions that will only spell failure later on.
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