1 Easy Way to Set Goals and Keep Them

It's the beginning of the year, and now that we're back from all the holly and eggnog of Christmas, we begin to look toward the new year.  Invariably, the national conversation has turned toward New Year's resolutions.  That term either brings great pride or equally great vitriol.  So many of us make these resolutions, and by the time Valentine's Day rolls around, they've long been forgotten.

We don't have to live this way.  No matter who you are or what you do it is possible to set goals and keep them.  You just have to know how to do them effectively.

There are several reasons we don't actually meet our goals.  Here are just a few:

1. They are unattainable/unrealistic
2. They take too long to accomplish
3. They don't take enough time to really set in
4. They're based on emotion
5. They're are too many to focus on one.

I'm sure you can think of many other reasons, but my point is we're pretty bad at getting them done.  May I make a suggestion?

Set one goal for the next three months that can be easily accomplished.

Let me show you what I mean.  The classic New Year's resolution is to loose X amount of pounds before the next year.  Let's say 40 for arguments sake.  That's a tall order and many people never lose that much weight in their entire lives, much less in a year.  However, what if instead of saying you'll lose 40 pounds in a year, you said you would loose 10 pounds in the next 3 months?  That would be less than a pound a week!  String 4 of those bad boys together, and by the time 2016 rolls around, you've lost 40 pounds!

Instead of setting a huge goal that's a year away,  why not set a goal that's 3 months away?  When setting goals we like to envision a far away future and set  our goals too far out.  We end up never working on them until it's crunch time.  Others like crunch time so much they set goals within 2 months.  Then the goal is either too easy to be challenging or too hard to be accomplished.

So let's do this exercise.  What is one thing you would like to see happen in your family, your job, or even your life in the next 2-6 months? If you think you can get it done in less than 2 you're not thinking big enough. If it can't be done in 6 then scale it back.  Make that one thing your rallying cry.  Whenever you have to make a decision, go back to that rallying cry.  Ask yourself, "Does this help or hurt?"

Since my wife and I are expecting a baby in January our rallying cry for the past 6 months has been getting ready for baby.  How we spent our money, made vacation plans, and even visited family revolved around this one singular idea.  It was easy for us to make sacrifices along the way because we had one singular focus. What's more, those around us understood and  even offered to help!

Next week we'll look talk about how to actually accomplish your rallying cry, but for now, what is yours?  Talk to your family or even your boss.  What do they think it should be? If you do this one thing your life will be clearer, less frantic, and more rewarding.