Now that we are a month into 2011 (where did January go??), have you stuck to the New Year’s Resolutions that you made to yourself? Probably not. Don’t feel bad. Most people have given up on them with you. But, that doesn’t mean that you cannot make new goals for yourself. You do not have to make life goals only once a year. Start over and make some new goals for yourself, but you should have a better plan about how to make the goals. Here are some tips on a good way to make the goals themselves so they will stick. I’ll leave the actual execution of your goals up to you.
Did You Make Too Many New Year’s Resolutions?
Did you make too many New Year’s Resolutions? Did you make several in different categories of your life? For example, did you set the goal of getting out of debt along with starting to save for retirement? That is quite a lofty set of goals. It is okay to have multiple goals, but I find it easier to focus on and keep them if you only set one per major category of your life. For example, you might only have one financial goal of getting out of debt this year, but that should not stop you from also setting the goal of losing weight by working out three times a week.
How Many Goals Should You Have?
How many goals are too many goals? For large goals like getting out of debt or starting an exercise regimen when none existed previously, I would only shoot for about three, one big goal from a different section of your life and not overlapping. Any more than that and you may find yourself getting overwhelmed. If you really think about it, is there any way that you can really keep tons of goals over the next few weeks, let alone the next several months? That is probably why we are already just now starting February and struggling to keep resolutions that we made only four short weeks ago.
Be SMART About The Goals You Make
Many of us actually forget how to actually make a goal. We pick something huge and stick it up on the wall or on the refrigerator knowing full well that we bit off more than we could chew when we were scribbling it out. There is actually a methodology to creating a goal, and it is called the SMART method. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. If you follow this outline to your goal making, you will be more likely to find success.
When it comes to setting goals, we often shoot ourselves in the foot. We shoot for the moon. We shoot from the hip. We are full of great intentions but also poor planning and even worse execution. By slowing down, taking a good hard look at what we can accomplish, and setting realistic goals, we can then have a pray to stick with them. Remember, it is never too late to set a goal. Even in February, now is the time to recommit yourself to a New Year’s Resolution. So, you fell off the horse. So what? Get back on and start again. Start from today. Pick up like today is January 1st instead of four weeks later.
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