When I’m speaking, I ask my audiences if they’re aware that writing down goals is key to getting them done. They all nod their heads in agreement. However, if I ask how many of them can show me, or even tell me, about their goals, blank stares abound.
Why the disconnect? We all know it’s important to commit our goals to paper. We promise ourselves we’re going to do it, and yet we don’t. Even when we do give it a shot, our goals end up sounding too vague, like too much work, or a lot less inspiring than the thoughts and dreams they started out as.
Just because I’m a life coach, that doesn’t mean I haven’t experienced the same thing myself. I have. But simply by adjusting the ways I put my goals down on paper, I’ve been able to capture the essence of why they inspired me in the first place. The good news is that you can do this too. Here are 3 tips you can start using right now!
1. Build action steps into your goals. One of the reasons we lose steam when it comes to our goals is because it’s hard to feel like we’re getting any closer to accomplishing them. It was a big goal when we wrote it down, and it’s still a big goal because we didn’t build in steps for accomplishing our goal.
For example, one of my big goals last year was to get in shape. If I’d written down my goal like that, I’m not sure how far I would have gotten. Instead, I wrote down a goal of hiring a personal trainer to help me get in shape. My goal had the first step built right into it. And yes, with help from my personal trainer, I’m in much better shape this year.
2. Don’t forget to include the things you no longer want in your life by adding an elimination list to your list of goals. For example: “I don’t want messy computer files. I want my computer files to be organized and easy to locate,” or “I don’t want a closet full of clothes that remind me of how I used to look. I want a closet full of clothes that I feel good wearing.” Can you see the action steps that are built right into these goals?
Can you write down a list of 5 things you want to eliminate from your life in 2015?
3. Increase your success rates by honoring your seasonal energy levels. If you have a goal of redecorating your family room, when are you more likely to have the energy to do it? In the dead of winter when new paint odors will fill your home? Or in late spring when you can open all the windows. If you want to start walking or running, which season will you enjoy starting in? You get the idea.
Forget about making “New Year’s Resolutions.” Whenever you’re ready to set a goal, just know that by tweaking the process a little bit, you can be successful—no matter what time of year it is.