Have you set super great goals in the past and failed? For
me, I never made goals because of just that! I was scared to fail. And I HATE
failing (well, I used to be terrified of it). So while everyone else was making new goals, I may
have thought about what I wanted in the upcoming year but I don’t remember ever
writing them down.
What about you? Do you make resolutions every January? Do
you stick to them?
I remember joining a gym last year around November. When
January hit, the gym was insane!! I asked a veteran gym goer how long it would
last. She said by March it would be back to normal. So sad but I can relate.
Sometimes big, scary goals are hard to achieve. They take time. They take
effort.
But lemme tell ya something….. it’s completely worth all the
effort. ;)
Here are some tips from Darren Hardy (the author of “The
Compound Effect” and several other amazing business books and magazines) on how to avoid goal
trip ups....
1.
Too Many, Too Much
You try tackling too many goals, change too
many ingrained behaviors and attempt to do too much too quickly. You have
probably been reinforcing a poor habit for 10, 20, 30 years, Breaking one poor
habit and cultivating a single success habit is tough enough, and worth it. If
you try to do too many, you won’t do any!
2.
Too Tough, Too Soon
Set something you can maintain. You will set
yourself up for failure by setting a “I will work out every day for 1 hour”
type of goal. Set something more realistic like “I will work out 30 minutes, 4
times a week”.
3.
Too Hardcore
Is there such a thing as too much discipline?
Yes, If you want to have any fun and joy in life. Too much discipline too
quickly will send your emotional system into a state of shock and meltdown.
Willpower fails, eventually, every time.
4.
Too Rigid
Give yourself some room for error. You will fall off course
80% of the time. Life will happen! You WILL fail! Just don’t stay down. Get up
and get back on. Over and over and over again.
5.
Too Vague
Your goal and the changed behavior or action
necessary are not specific or quantified enough.
6.
No Measurement
You can’t improve what you can’t measure. A consistent
monthly, weekly, daily measurement system is essential!
Here is another great resource from Darren about goal setting.
I challenge every single one of you to set some tangible goals this weekend. Set some realistic ones and some others that are almost out of reach. That way when you aim for tem and miss, you still are amongst the stars ;)