Are You Committed to Your Goals?

As the start of the New Year comes upon us, goal setting is in front of us. Many of us take stock of our professional goals as well as our personal goals. Chances are, family, friends or even co-workers will hit you with the classic question, “So any New Year’s Resolutions? Now I am asking you; what do you want to resolve this year?

Is it a S.M.A.R.T. goal? Is it Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely?

When setting a goal, it remains important to be specific about what you want to accomplish. You will find that you need to answer who, what, when, and why for your goal.

How will you measure your success? What metrics will you take to measure your progress? If it is a project that is going to take a few months to complete, consider setting milestones when achieving tasks.

How important is a goal to you and what can you do to make it more attainable? This may mean acquiring new skills or changing your behaviours and attitudes. What is the purpose of your goal? Does this help others as well as yourself?

Anyone can say they set a goal, but if it lacks realistic timing, chances are you will not succeed. You can have the best of intentions, but the question is, will you follow through with the promises you made to yourself?

If you are like a lot of people, you may make self-justification statements to let your goal slide. The best of us are great at justifying the lack of progress because we are afraid of change and the work involved. You may start thinking of yourself in a negative fashion, but do not give up. There might be an element of truth but that is not the real issue.

The real issue is focus. Think of all the excuses you produce to not put in the effort. You get bogged down with the day-to-day, forgetting how good it will feel when you achieve victory. Instead of pushing your self-esteem to the bottom of the bucket, rise above and carry it to the finish line.

The key to staying on task is not sheer mindedness or willpower, it’s where you place the focus. I encourage you to write down your goal every day first thing in the morning to help keep your brain wired to what you want to accomplish.

Focus on the big picture, focus on your values, and focus on what will give you long-term happiness if you stay on task.

Goals are a very linear way of thinking, so when a creative mind saunters through, many things become distractions, this is when I say WOW. Focus on the W.O.W; WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITIES WAIT for you. Focus on the S.M.A.R.T and take the energy from the W.O.W.

If you are having a challenge staying on task with your goals, personally or through business, hire a life coach to work with you. Life coaching is all about accountability. An organized, deliberate plan, with you in the driver’s seat, allows you to discover your purpose and find your desired outcome. A Life Coach will help you focus on your awesome ideas and hold you accountable for your actions, using step-by-step victory milestones.
One of my favourite quotes on goals is:

“Just like babies need to learn to crawl before they walk, you need to create a list of smaller goals to achieve your big dreams.” –Humaira Syed