Starting Fresh and Setting Goals in New Year

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” –Tony Robbins

As I headed to the gym on January 2nd, the first day it was open after the New Year had begun...I couldn’t help but notice the lack of available parking spots in the massive gym parking lot. Seems I wasn’t the only one with the plan to start the year off right. It is truly inspirational to see so many people striving to achieve their goals whether that is physically, professionally or spiritually. Seeing such vigor for achieving goals, can’t help but encourage others to achieve their goals as well. I had this exact thought as I had to walk a mile to get into the gym, due to the lack of parking spots.

·         Vision Board- You do not have to be an acclaimed artist to make a poster board of your goals. Be as creative as you want, as detailed as you can and as personal as you can. I’ve cut up magazines, printed quotes and images from the internet and even used family photos.

** Once it is complete, place the board somewhere you will see it every day. Take time as often as you like to study it, concentrate on it, meditate on the goals you chose to make for yourself.

         Taking the time to create a vision board also promotes the less organized to become organized. Many people already live their lives by lists. Others struggle to remember their car keys let alone write a list for daily tasks. Developing the habit of writing lists for tasks is also essential to achieving your goals.

Navy Admiral William H. McCraven, the decorated war veteran that lead the organized raid on Osama Bin Laden gave a commencement speak in 2014 to a graduating class of navel recruits. His speach included the advice:

“If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day,'' he said. "It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.”

The truth about goals is we tend to over think them, over commit to them and understatement the time needed to accomplish them.  To prevent yourself from getting sucked into these traps, one method I have implemented into my New Year goal setting plan is to break down all of my goals, into chewable sizes. You can have well thought out, big plans that need to be attacked in small achievable bites.

·         Break down your goals into smaller steps, by day by week, by month or in Admiral MCCraven’s case, by task.

Having a big goal comprised of smaller goals helps you to stay on task and also not feel overwhelmed by all there is to do to achieve your ultimate goal.

Last but not least, be a doer. So often we get caught up with the glitz and glam of achieving goals we forget that achieving our goals involves a lot of non-glamorous , tedious hard work.

One tangible way to help you become a doer verses a dreamer is implementing ways to keep yourself accountable. Some have found making a public proclamation via social media helps motivate oneself to actually achieving their goals. When every knows about your plan and will likely ask you about them, it makes it harder ignore the necessary tasks to achieving your goals. If you are not the type to publically ask for accountability the same thing can be achieved with one person you know will hold you accountable. Your accountability-buddy needs to be someone you know doesn’t have a problem being honest with you. It definitely does not need to be that friend that tells you what you want to hear.

·         Accountability-buddy (or many). Someone(s) that will be honest with you during the process of achieving your goals. This can also be done by making something that people can see and ask you about. For example: posting your goal near/above/around your desk at work where you know your co-workers come and will see and ask you about it.