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NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
At the close of every year, many of us pause and reflect on the past twelve months of our lives. We evaluate our accomplishments and our failures, and we look forward with anticipation and hope to the year ahead. As we evaluate where we are and compare that with where we would like to be, we begin to formulate our goals, or New Year's resolutions. Naming resolutions at this time of the year is a time-honored tradition for many, but for most, they are good intentions that are never fulfilled because of a lack of follow-through. In fact, only 33% of people still honor this tradition and make annual resolutions. Studies also show that 95 to 97 percent of New Year's resolutions are not kept. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to spend some time this week formulating your resolutions and share with you some secrets to making your New Year's resolutions, and in fact, all your goals and dreams, come true. Many of the concepts presented here I learned in The Pursuit & Practice of Personal Mastery by Brian Klemmer. In this program, he outlines many of the concepts presented here with regard to goal-setting and successful achievement.
Personal Life Vision
The first important concept of goal-setting is vision. Most of us are familiar with the concept of vision with regard to organizations or businesses, but how many of us have taken the time to author, write down, and commit to a personal life vision? A vision is the act or power of anticipating what will come to be, and a vision statement is a concise summary of your personal life vision. It is the source and motivation for everything we do. We should all develop our own personal life vision to serve as the framework for our goals.
Aligning Goals with Vision
Second, we need to consider the congruity of our short-term and long-term goals. All successful people set and achieve goals, but many of us pursue goals that are not in line with our life vision or do not lead us to anywhere in particular. These goals are rabbit holes, and, when you look at the big picture, time spent in working toward achieving such goals is a waste. Goals that do not lead to anywhere in particular are often the product of our ego, and result in satisfying only the ego, as opposed to more meaningful objectives. I encourage you to scrutinize your goals and make sure that they are in line with your vision and life plan. Your short term and long-term goals need to follow in a systematic manner - as almost like a series of ladders leading upward toward your ultimate goals. Brian Klemmer encourages everyone to take the time to develop 100-year, 50-year, 10-year, 5-year, and 1-year goals (New Year's resolutions). I know what you are thinking right now. "Hundred year goals? What is the point in formulating 100-year goals? I am not going to live long enough to achieve such goals!" That is exactly the point! We work toward achieving 100-year goals, and create an impact on others by providing them with the necessary momentum to achieve these goals long after we are gone. With this framework in place, it becomes much easier to formulate our short-term goals and ensure that they follow a logical progression, one ladder rung at a time, toward our ultimate goal. Once you have developed your personal life vision and a list of short-term and long-term goals, how can you improve your chances of being in the 3 to 5 percent of people who fulfill their New Year's resolutions?
Write down your goals
A study performed several years ago polled Harvard graduates regarding goal-setting. At the time of graduation, only 3 percent of the graduates had formulated and written down life goals. When the graduates were surveyed 10 years later, the 3 percent who had envisioned life goals at the time of graduation had achieved significantly more financial success than their counterparts who did not. In fact, the goal-setting 3 percent had a combined net worth that surpassed the total net worth of the other 97 percent of students combined. Writing down your goals creates a level of commitment to achieving your goals.
Post your goals in a visible place
Another step is to post your goals where you can read them on a regular basis. Many people, including myself, have a vision board as a daily reminder of our life vision. Looking at and reading a vision board on a daily basis, I have found, keeps me focused on the most important things.
Share your goals with others.
As humans, we are not very good at holding ourselves accountable. By sharing our goals with someone else, especially someone whom we love and respect, we motivate ourselves to be more accountable and therefore more likely to be successful in achieving our goals - creating a partnership of accountability that will be beneficial to both parties.
So when we ring in the New Year I encourage all of us to resolve any and all conflicts and resentment we have carried with ourselves during the last year so that we may start the new year with a fresh, positive attitude. Invest the time and energy to develop a life vision and a well thought-out set of short-term and long-term plans that are consistent with your vision. Write down, commit to, and share your resolutions and goals with someone you love and respect. Spend time with friends and family. Love fearlessly, and live in the present moment.
KAIZEN!!!!
Steven M. Erickson
© Copyright 2010 Steven M. Erickson.
All rights reserved. Ki Inspiring Thoughts.
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