Every December I take a bunch of time and reflect on the past year and dream of the future. It seems the more time that passes, the more time and energy I put into this process.
I recently did a talk I called Your Best Year Yet. I was so excited because it was extremely well received.
I discussed my 3 strategies of Goal Setting:
- Connecting with your WHY
- Planning Your Goal
- Celebrating Your Success
All 3 of these strategies are important but today I’m going to focus on the second, Planning Your Goal.
Many people over-complicate goal setting. As long as you follow these 5 steps, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in just one year.
Step 1 – Make the goal specific – “Lose weight” isn’t specific. Neither is “Save more money.” “Lose 30 pounds” is specific. “Save 10%” of my take home pay is. Make your goal specific. One year, I wrote down “Earn my Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt.” That’s pretty specific. I was either going to have that black belt around my waist or not. Make your goal specific.
Step 2 – Write it down – This should go without saying but I’m going to say it anyway. According to best-selling author Brian Tracy, only 3% of people have written specific goals. That means only 3 people out of hundred write their goals down. If you write yours down, your half way there, and ahead of most people.
Step 3 – Make it Measurable – You need to be able to see where you are in relation to your goal. In other words, you must be able to track it. Let’s say you want to lose 24 pounds in a year. That breaks down to 6 pounds per quarter (3 months). If we’re half way through the first quarter, you should be down 3 pounds and if not, it’s time to do some course correction.
Step 4 – Make it YOURS – Too many people set goals around the expectations of other people. They’re trying to do what will make other people happy rather than what they really dream of. One of the problems with that method is that as we all know, life gets hard. Kids get sick. Or maybe we have a problem at work. It will be nearly impossible to stay focused on your goal if it isn’t uniquely yours.
Step 5 – Get Accountability – I’m not saying you should blast your goals on Facebook but tell a person or two that you trust. They can check in on you and give you the accountability you need. Ideally, you would break down your goal to the daily and/or weekly behaviors that are needed in order to achieve it. We all know that anything big is the culmination of small things. When the NFL football team wins the super bowl, it’s the result of many plays, moving the chains a little at a time.
No need to over-complicate things. Follow these 5 steps in making your plan and accomplish more in one year than many do in years.
Also, answer this question. What things need to happen in order for it to be a reality? In other words, what would have to be true for this to be the reality?
Billy Hofacker – Owner & Transformation Coach at Total Body Boot Camp – BS, CSCS