Goals Are Dreams With Next Steps
A new year means new goals for many. I've heard around 80% of people fail at their New Year's goals, so how can you create goals you stick with? Confucius said: "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."
A new year brings with it new opportunities. Opportunities for setting new goals or for being disappointed again by not achieving them. Some people relish the chance to plan out new goals and think of new things they want to accomplish. Others roll their eyes and recognize that 80% of new resolutions fail, so why even bother?
I find myself in the middle of these groups. I enjoy having goals, but recognize just having a goal doesn't mean I will work to achieve it. If I'm going to be part of the 80% statistic, why even start?
So how do you go about setting a goal you are more likely to achieve? I have found a couple of tips to help me move forward with creating realistic goals that I stick with:
- Create goals that excite you: identify goals that are exciting enough to endure through the hardest days.
- Create only a few goals: a common mistake is to create too many goals and then its just overwhelming. Try to have 2 or 3 goals to focus on.
- Create a boundary for you goal: smart goals are time-bound so they are completed at a certain date. Maybe you feel like its too much to create annual goals, so start with creating one just for this month or this week.
- Start with realistic steps: even the biggest goals have to start somewhere. What is the next action you need to take to make progress on your goals?
- Don't create a goal: a few friends of mine create a theme for the year; try a theme or maybe a word or an intention.
Setting big goals isn't for everyone, but we all have dreams. I've found my goals are my dreams distilled into actionable next steps. If you want to turn your dream into your reality, setting goals is the perfect place to start.
What goals are you setting for yourself this year?