Aha! Moment Monday
Are you a New-Year’s-Resolution kind of person? One who looks at the turn of the clock to commit to new goals? If so, you’re in good company!
But, are you part of the 77% who makes resolutions only to have lost sight of them before the end of January?
“New year – new you”, isn’t that how the saying goes? It’s easy to get a little overzealous when the champagne is flowing! Those goals sound sooo good until it’s time to act on them!
A busy schedule is probably the #1 reason why goals are abandoned but right behind that is that we make resolutions that really don’t fit!
Ah … wouldn’t it be great if you could go from decision to goal and skip the in between part? Like on Bewitched when Samantha would just wiggle her nose and all would be perfect?
What’s the magic formula?
Aha! ~ Goals aren’t something you own, they’re something you grow into.
Achievements don’t happen overnight because you have to prepare yourself for them. The goal is there but you need to be ready … and do the work. Depending on the goal, there will be a set of steps and circumstances that need to come together. It all starts with a decision.
Here are the rest of the steps.
1. Choose only one goal that’s really important to you.Something you really want and something for which you’re very willing to carve out time. (My son is a Certified Nutrition Coach and recently said, “If I’ve learned one thing in coaching it’s that people are successful when they change only one thing at a time.”)
2. Be specific about what that is.Write it out in detail and use positive words only e.g. change “I won’t spend money unnecessarily” to “I am so happy and grateful now that I am in control of my budget and am able to save $X”Change, “I will lose 20 lbs” to “I am so happy and grateful now that I thrive at a healthy weight of X lbs.”(See the difference?The mind doesn’t understand a negative like “won’t”, it only registers “spend”.Choose words that represent the goal.)
3. Add to your goal how you feel now that you have achieved it and put that emotion in the present tense e.g.I love shopping for new clothes and feel sexy in my new skin …” (Ya, baby!)
4. Condense the goal into a couple of brief sentences and check to ensure they are written in the present tense (you need to own it NOW!)
5. Create a plan.Not only is a goal without a plan simply a wish, “decision fatigue” is real and costly.A plan ensures the decisions are premade. Add a check-list or planner whereby you can account for your behaviour and monitor your progress.
6. Decide on a reward.The accomplishment will be reward enough but the “growing” part might be a little painful.Plan mini rewards along the way like giving yourself a gold star on your calendar every time you apply that new behaviour or achieve a pre-determined milestone.(When I quit smoking a zillion years ago my mantra was, “I am so happy and grateful now that I have a healthy, vibrant body and can easily run 10 k in under 50 minutes.”Every day that I was smoke-free I put $2 in a jar.That funded new running gear.)
7. Create a support team.If you’re going to share your goal, do so with people who understand how important it is to you and can support you.Count on one another for boosts of encouragement and a positive environment.
8. Take time every day to write out your goal, then invest a couple of minutes immediately afterwards to visualize yourself having achieved it.Be super clear with that visualization and smile knowing you’re on your way to owning it.
So, what’s it going to be? Financial Freedom? Better health? Expanded vocabulary? Family vacation? Start your own business? Publish a book? Big move? New record?
If you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand.
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