Now that we’re in the month of December, we’ve got the holidays coming along and before you know it the year will be over and the New Year will have begun.
That’s why it’s a good time to begin thinking about what you’re going to accomplish in 2014 this month…
But, before you even start thinking about next year, I want you to review what your goals for this were…and how successful you were in achieving them.
Be honest with yourself…
Are you where you thought you’d be? Did you reach the goals you had set for yourself this time last year? Are you as successful as you hoped you would be?
I’m going to tell you without any sugar added to it that most people did not reach the goals they set out for themselves this past year.
Does that include you? It may well…
90 per cent of people get 90 per cent of the way to their goals before giving up on them. There’s a reason for this, which I’ll talk about in a moment.
But let’s be honest, achieving a goal easier to say than to do, isn’t it?
Well, read on to see why and how to change that outcome by this time next year and in all likelihood, a lot bloody sooner!
You see, the reasons why you may not have been as successful as you had planned to be last year are, for the most part, pretty basics ones…
There are, of course, things that happen out of the blue that we can’t control, but let’s put those aside and talk about the things you can control.
Think more about the right things
One basic problem most people have is the ability to stay focused. Most people haven’t mastered the skill of remaining focused on a goal… But it is a skill that anyone can develop.
The key is to focus on a DESIRED OUTCOME until it comes into reality. Do not worry at all about how it will come about.
In fact, do not worry at all…Worrying is useless. It is wasted mental energy that does no one any good but only harms them.
The reason you should not focus so much on how an outcome will come about is because you will identify the steps you need to take to realise that outcome…
And often, the outcome will come about through steps or events you hadn’t thought of…
Unpack your cluttered mind
Another obstacle to focusing on your goals is a cluttered mind. The vast majority of people don’t think anymore…
They’re too busy with life. Furthermore, the life that we have around us doesn’t allow us—or certainly doesn’t make it easy—to take time out to just think.
But that’s just what you need to do. You need to spend time every day. Not just reacting to traffic or other people’s needs, but thinking.
When we don’t think about who are and who we want to become, what we’re doing today and what we really want to be doing tomorrow, we just sort of bump around from place to place…
In that sort of reactive environment, things happen to us rather than us making things happen…
Does this sound perhaps more than a bit like your life?
If it does, then good; now you’ve identified an obstacle to your goals that you can remove from your life…or at least greatly minimize.
Put your intentions out there so that you can make it a reality
It may sound simple, but you must know what you want to achieve before you can actually achieve it.
That’s where my Peg In The Sand book really works. It helps you break down your goals that you want to achieve for the year…
It takes you through a step-by-step process to achieve your goals.
Now, here’s a part just for the men…
Guys, you are most likely NOT to work on the personal development side of changing your lives that I’ve been talking about…
Taking time to think, to visualize, to follow your dreams…
It doesn’t mean you can’t, it just means that you tend not to want to spend time in that area.
But ask yourselves: “How have things worked out for you so far?”
From wishes to plans
In order for your goals to move from dreams to reality, you need to first write them down.
Let me say that again: YOU MUST WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS!
Goals that remain in your head will get lost and diluted amongst the millions of other thoughts and trivial mental tasks that we get involved with.
When you write them down, they are clarified. You capture those goals for you to refer to later.
When you read them, you restore your enthusiasm and belief in their possibility.
Next, you need to categorise your goals in to their varying components of your life: Wealth, health, family and relationships (spirituality), fun factor, personal achievements in terms of improving yourself.
Once you can quantify each of those goals in great detail, including a schedule to make them happen, they stop being wishes…
They become tangible plans with real steps to take along the way, within a timeframe for completion.
Count your victories!
Why do 90 percent of people get within 90 percent of achieving their goals but fail?
They don’t have the milestones to measure themselves how far they’ve come and how close they are—they just don’t know, get frustrated and give up.
That’s why you write down the goals but also the steps you must take, the milestones you must reach…
Be sure to count your successes along the way because the achievement of any goal is really the achievement of many smaller goals along the way.
Change your everyday behavior
If you want a different outcome than what you’ve been getting in your life, make changes. You must start do things differently. Start thinking differently. That way, you train yourself to act differently.
Sometimes impediments to our success are right in front of us.
For example, how many of you are thinking, “That’s great, Dymphna, but I work 60 hours a week and don’t have any time to do anything differently.”
Not having any time is the biggest challenge for most people.
But you know what? You have more time than you think you do.
What do you do in your down time after work? For most people, it’s getting a little bit of dinner and a sit down before the telly, isn’t it?
But ask yourself how that’s really helping you get from where you are to where you want to go?
Remember, to get different results than what you’ve been getting, you must change your behavior.
Think about the sport or movie you’re watching two, three or even more nights every week… The people you’re watching are already living their dreams.
They’re athletes and actors. They’re achieving their goals. And what are you doing?
You’re watching them. You’re not living your own life… You’re watching other people live their lives!
One small change leads to another…
Start living your own life right now!
How? By reinventing yourself one small but significant change at a time.
For example, even just starting your day differently than you have in the past can be your daily goal…
Rather than starting your day with the typical rush of getting the kids up, making breakfast and getting both yourself and your spouse out the door to work…
Start your day 15 minutes earlier and spend that time to review your goals for the month, for the week, and even for the day…
Spend a few minutes every morning focusing on the desired outcomes of what you want…
Then spend a couple more deciding what you will do that day to move you closer to your goals.
You will be surprised how you will have come by this time next year.