#76 Five Steps To An Achievable New Year's Goal

The time of year when goals are most discussed is at the turn of the New Year. We get fired up and motivated to achieve new personal New Year's Resolutions for our health, our hobbies, our spirituality and our businesses.

However, the motivation can easily wane if we lose focus on our goals, if we feel overwhelmed by the effort it really takes to achieve them, or if we don't see immediate results on our first attempt.

So it's important to realise that these New Year's resolutions are just the same as any other goal we set. If we treat them like real goals, they'll more likely become real!

Step 1: Have no more than 3 really important New Year's goals.

Too many goals means too much scattering of your attention. If you've struggled to achieve all your goals in the past, then ask yourself: "Is it better to have a lot of goals and achieve none, or have a couple of goals and achieve one?"

Step 2: Make each goal super-specific.

No pie-in-the-sky wishes (Santa should have taken care of them already). Make your New Year's goals so detailed that you can create in your mind the exact experience of them already being achieved. "I want to be fit and healthy" is a pie-in-the-sky wish. "I will attain and keep my weight at 55kg" and "I will comfortably run 5km in under 25 minutes" are super-specific goals.

Oh, and write them down in this super-specific language, somewhere you can see and read them every day.

Step 3: Check there are no problems associated with having each goal.

It's called systemic thinking, when you ask yourself questions like "what if?" or "what else?", and these are important questions to ask about any goal you set for yourself. Will achieving the goal be all good, or are there some nasty side effects that could mean it's better to rethink the goal, or abort it altogether?

Step 4: Measure each goal!

Having a goal without measuring it is like watching a movie with your eyes closed. You will need regular and ongoing feedback about how fast you're dropping the pounds or what your average 5km run time is week on week.

And because there will always be ups and downs, measuring makes certain you stay objectively focused on the overall trend.

Step 5: Know what you're going to do differently to achieve your goals.

"Action! Nothing Happens Until Something Moves" is the title of a book by Robert Ringer, and they are wise words. You will not achieve your goals without making some distinct (and usually uncomfortable and challenging) changes in what you do each day. It's not fun saying no to a chocolate cupcake, but you must. And yes, especially if you don't feel like it, you have to put on your running shoes and start moving.

Each of these steps requires discipline. Are you prepared to give the discipline in return for achieving your goals? If not, perhaps you have the wrong goals. But if so, there's no time like right now to get started!