The New Year always brings a great opportunity to set new goals, or resolutions, for ourselves. It is a time for new beginnings, for renewing or revisiting old goals and a chance to redefine ourselves and our lives. As George Eliot once said, “It’s never too late to be who you might have been.”
Usually when people set goals or resolutions for themselves, they come up with one big concept, like, “I want to lose 60 pounds” or “I want to make my first million this year”. Although these may be great ultimate goals, usually just the overall concept of such a big task is intimidating and overwhelming to say the least. Even though in our minds we want to believe or even know deep inside we can reach them, the reality of such a grand concept may seem far away in our minds. Many people start out the New Year with the best intentions and highly motivated to reach their new goals but as the days pass and they feel no IMMEDIATE sense of accomplishment or success, the motivation begins to taper off and the best intentions turn into despair. The new goal quickly fades into distance with the idea that we may try again next year. Unfortunately, this story is all too common but there is hope!
The best tip and proven secret for reaching our goals more easily is to take the larger goal and break it down into smaller more attainable tasks and start there. For example, if you want to lose 60 pounds, you can break that down into smaller tasks such as “I will exercise 4 times a week” or “I will replace my afternoon latte with a high protein shake at least three times a week”. Every time you accomplish one of these smaller tasks, you are one step closer to reaching your ultimate goal! You will also experience a feeling of success each time which will motivate you to continue on the path to your larger, ultimate goal. It is this feeling of success and accomplishment with each smaller achievement that will keep you motivated. Before you know it you’re ultimate goal will be right at hand.
Keep the larger goal in mind but FOCUS your attention on the more immediate, smaller steps.
You WILL reach your goals more easily and realistically this way. YOU CAN DO IT!!!
Other helpful tools for reaching goals include:
• Goal or Dream boards (includes photos of your goals)
• Visual Graphs or Charts (so you can track your progress)
• Journaling (daily writing to track your progress & feelings along the way)
• Meditation (daily time to still and clear the mind)
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