As the New Year rolls around, millions of people will set New Year’s resolutions. Within two weeks, most will be a distant memory. If more people used proven goal-setting techniques, the result might be entirely different. For instance:
Set SMART Goals. You may have heard the SMART acronym: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-based. By this standard, make more money doesn’t qualify as a SMART goal. Increase our customer base by 10% by the end of the year does. It’s specific, you can quantify it, and there’s a deadline attached to it.
Write Your Goals Down. The process of writing out your goals makes them more tangible and reinforces your commitment.
Keep Them In Front Of You. My goals are posted beside my computer, where I see them every day. If they’re out of sight, they’re out of mind.
Review Them Frequently. Every day, I ask myself what I’ve done to bring myself closer to my goals. Sometimes that answer may be “nothing,” but the very process of being aware of that makes it more likely that I’ll make my goals a priority the next day.
Share Your Goals. Going public with your goals keeps the pressure on. Only share your goals with people you know will be supportive of them, not naysayers who will try to undermine you. The best support system I’ve found for reaching my goals is my mastermind group.
Acknowledge Yourself. Tomorrow, in addition to writing down my goals for 2009, I’ll list my accomplishments for 2008, a ritual I go through every year. We’re often so busy getting from Point A to Point B that we forget to notice how far we’ve come. Don’t forget to celebrate your accomplishments – you deserve it, and success breeds more success.
Wishing you all health, happiness and abundance in the new year!
