
If you're failing your New Year's resolutions almost as soon as you've started them, don't be hard on yourself. About 64% of people give up on their New Year's resolutions by the end of January.
I don’t want to talk about new years resolutions because they don’t work.
Some people want to change their career, others their appearance and many what they perceive as bad habits such as smoking or drinking too much after the festivities.
These mostly fail because the changes they desire are too ambitious, ambiguous or with no plan and support structure in place. Goals are the opposite because they need to be clear, they need to be achievable and they need to have a plan.
Many try to change but most fail for the simple reason they want overnight transformation rather than an evolutionary process, which if adopted with patience and a plan will ultimately deliver the change. Those people that succeed use goals and because they have identified what is important to them.
Goals establish where you intend to go and tell you when you get there. The more carefully you define your goals, the more likely you are to adopt good habits and achieve what you wanted to accomplish in the first place.
I would like to share with you a simple tool that I have used over the years to identity and write down my own goals. When completing this template, the secret is to always use plain language which is relevant to you and avoid at all costs buzz words and the usual self-improvement cliches. This is a simple seven step process.
Goal setting Template
What is the specific goal that you want to achieve?
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Why do you want to achieve this goal?
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Where are you currently starting from as it relates to this goal?
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How will you achieve this goal? List each individual action step and deadline.
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Who will be involved in helping you achieve this goal? Identify their specific role.
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When will you achieve this goal? Identify a specific date and budget required
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The last step is to print out your goals template, you might even want to laminate it. You then place it where you can see it on a daily basis. This provides motivation and allows you to sit down on a regular basis and review your progress.
You need to reflect on where you are going at least once a week. Sit down with a beverage of your choice and go through each of your goals.
Reward yourself for progress and identify what you need to do if you are not moving forward.
Always ask yourself why am I succeeding and build on that and also why am I not on track? You can then devise a plan to ensure you stay on course.
If you need help, ask for it and build a support network for success.
I wish you all success in 2022 and hope that this simple goal template can help you evolve and go forward in your desired direction.
Good luck and I look forward to sharing ideas with you on Panacea in the year ahead.
John Joe McGinley
Glassagh Consulting February 2022