Did you meet your goals last year? Or do you still have some things left over that you didn't accomplish? Maybe you bit off more than you could chew or maybe other things got in the way.
Whether you try to meet the same goals again or you go on to something new, meeting your goals is the purpose of making them. As obvious as that sounds, many of us skip past that part and then wonder why making resolutions and goals "doesn't work" for us.
If you're ready to get past the same old try-and-fail routine, here are some ways that will help you actually meet those goals. Keep in mind that you have to apply these tips to make them work.
Limit your ambition
You can't do it all, no matter how much you'd like to. Limit your goals to one or two at the most and decide which one is more important. If there are more goals you'd like to meet, write them down and tell yourself that you can tackle them as soon as your first two are completed.
What do you really want?
Be specific. Take your time to think it over, even if you think you know what you want. Don't say, "I want a better car." Do say, "I will save XX each month (or week) toward the purchase of XX type of vehicle."
Don't say, "I want to lose weight." Do say, "I will exercise 30 minutes more Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I will not snack between lunch and dinner."
Don't say, "I want to have money in the bank to cover insurance when it's due." Do say, "I will put XX in the bank each paycheck so that I'll have the premium when it's due."
Get the focus right
It's not the wanting, it's the getting that you must focus on. Think more about the end result than about the beginning situation. As I said before, meeting your goals is the purpose of making them. If you just wish and want, you'll be doing that the rest of your life. It's when you decide to do something about your wishes and wants that they become reality and you can go on to do more and better things with your life.
Write it down.
It's fine to have great and grandiose dreams of what we're going to accomplish as a new year or living in a new home or going to a new job creates a fresh ambition in us to do better and more of whatever we feel is lacking. It's energizing and exciting to see the possibilities down the road, so write down what you want to accomplish. Be as poetic or as practical as you want because this is for your eyes only.
It's all too easy to become lazy and uncaring after we've been at it awhile. When that happens, go back to your plans and read them again.
Take one step at a time, one day at a time.
Any little hill seems like a huge mountain to climb when you stand at the bottom and look at the top, but when you start with one step, then take another and then another, you'll soon be there. If you need to lose 25 pounds, lose the first five. Give yourself a little time to enjoy it while you maintain it. Go on to the next five pounds when you're ready.
Use your imagination
They tell us that if we imagine something long enough it becomes real, so make use of your dreams of being thinner or richer or healthier to create the reality. Tell yourself that you are what you want to be and you'll work harder at becoming it.
Is this magic or hocus pocus? No. It's a self fulfilling prophecy. There's nothing magic or mystical about it. It's your own hard work that does it, encouraged and inspired by your own desires presented to your mind in a concrete way.
Setting goals, making plans, budgeting, making resolutions... they're all part of "doing it better," that we always seem to strive for. It really does happen and there are a few who have achieved a high level of contentment with where they are and what they are doing. You can be one of those few, but only you can make it happen.
