How to set the RIGHT goals for 2020
Jan 02, 2020
Are you getting asked the question "What are your resolutions for 2020?"
If you have set resolutions before, then you probably know that they almost always fail. In fact, research has proven that around 92% fail. That is heart-felt dreams that never get fulfilled. Commitments broken.
What's worse, is that disillusionment with 'goal setting' sets in, and you embark on a life of drifting being pushed every which way by those who do have goals.
But resolutions are not goals. Most of the time goals and not even goals.
There is a science and an art to successful goal setting that I believe everyone must learn.
Why?
Because as Brian Tracy says in his famed 20-year old book 'Eat That Frog' explains:
"Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement."
So how do you set goals properly? and how can you know that you are setting the right goals for you for this year?
Master The Art Of Goal Setting
If you've experienced failure with goal setting before. I encourage you to not give up.
Here are 6 steps I do myself when sitting down to think about my goals that will transform your goal setting experience and longevity in staying committed to them:
1 -Dream:
I ask myself: What would really rock my world if it was to happen this year? How would my life be better, and what would the ripple effects be for others I care about? Putting aside time, money, people for a moment - what would I REALLY like to achieve? How would I feel, what would it bring me, how would my life be better?
2 -Dwell on where I am today:
Next, I take a reality check of who I am today, what I am capable of right now, my overall starting point before heading off. Before heading on a journey, I need to have an accurate picture of where I am starting from, otherwise any plan I come up with will be flawed. As part of this, I also need to assess what resources I have at my disposal - both internal and external to me.
Internal are things like my experience, existing skills, strengths, personality.
External is everything outside of me, like network, location, finances etc.
3 -Dispense the past:
I've come to learn that I can't truly move on until I have dispensed with the past. I must deal with the past or it will always be there to pull me back. This means no holding on to something that allows me to retreat - to 'opt out'. Also emotionally - I must become competent at dealing with painful memories that flood back as I try to take action. Maybe its a need to forgive (been there!!), or seek forgiveness from someone, maybe make restitution. Deal with the past or it will always be there to pull you back, hold you down, and put its head up to stop you when you are on the verge of a major breakthrough.
4 -Design:
A dream must come into a plan, a strategy working backwards from my dream to where I am now. So a dream is a start, but you and I can't stay there. I have to design a strategy to take me from where I am now to my dream. I do this by working backwards from my dream until I get to the steps that I can begin today, then carry on tomorrow, and so on until I am there. A journey of 1000 miles is made up of many steps. I don't plan every step, but milestones from the future to now, and then detail steps from where I am to the first milestone, and leave the gap between later milestones as a rough plan to be fleshed out as I achieve my near-term tasks.
This diagram lays it all out:
5 -Do it:
Most plans fail because they never get executed. Failure to start brings certainty of failure. Self explanatory really, but fear and doubt must be faced, and those two beasts are best faced with step 5 & 6 working together.
6 -Docent:
OK, so I needed another 'D' word. Docent means guide. You may plan a complex journey, but the unexpected always happens ... and at those times your plan will let you down. Just as a GPS can help you get back on track to your plan, a docent, guide or coach will help you when you get stalled and confused, and losing confidence, to get you back moving again in the right direction. So for each goal, who will be my gps, my guide when I lose my way?
Follow That Car!
Always a fun line to use when you jump in a car to follow another somewhere. In this case, follow that plan!, and it will transform your 2020 goal success rate.
If you find this helpful? Check out one of my free local & online free events on How to Design The 2020 You Really Want.
Is today the day to start change for you?
Don't put it off another day.
Book a free confidential consultation 1 on 1 with Coach Guy.
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