Believe You Can
I am writing this POST in early January and my New Year resolutions are already getting a little fuzzy and need a re-commitment! How about you? A Forbes.com article from Dec. 31, 2018 says “This Year, Don’t Set New Year’s Resolutions. “ “Studies have shown that less than 25% of people actually stay committed to their resolutions after just 30 days, and only 8% accomplish them. Don’t be part of the statistic. This year, set goals instead of resolutions.”
So what is a GOAL? Oxford defines a goal, in this context, as: the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result. You may have heard of SMART Goals – if not, here is a definition from mindtools.com.
SMART is a well-established tool that you can use to plan and achieve your goals. While there are several interpretations of the acronym's meaning, the most common one is that goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. I like to recommend setting SMART-Y goals, where the Y stands for FOR WHY – to tie the GOAL back to YOUR life message.
CHALLENGE: What are YOUR goals for this year, this month? Write them down in a SMART-Y format. What is your strategy to buck the “8% accomplish them” odds and accomplish YOUR goals?
Bo Jackson, famous major league baseball and football player, said, ”set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.” Jesus would say “ye of little faith”. Steve Martin in the movie Roxanne would say, “why should we sip from a teacup when we can drink from the river?” In Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, Collins and Porras say successful companies set “big harry audacious goals (BHAG). For me – I am tired of talking and I am ready to act. I’m not sure if my goals are big, harry, and audacious – but I do have one year – one month – one week goals with an accountability plan to stay on track.
Teddy Roosevelt said, “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” For me this says – be positive and roll up your sleeves. I, being a melancholy beaver, tend to lean to the negative so staying positive takes work. Staying committed requires a process and an accountability partner, per the teachings Franklin Covey and Weight Watchers. I used the I Dare to Act Kickstart Guide this year to both set my goals and establish a process to better the odds of success. Do you have a process for goal setting and achievement?
So why do most people fail to achieve their goals? For me it is “friction” - a resistance to that one object encounters when moving over another. The resistance comes from me and others. I have the tendency to return to where I was – to the status quo – so I continually need to stay positive and recommit to change. I also fall prey to resistance from others - their negativity and to their opposing goals and ambitions. For this I am trying to rely on the wisdom from Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend, and establish clear boundaries to achieve a healthy, balanced lifestyle. If needed, I will repeat the wise mantra from Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) – Don’t Bring Me Down…Bruce!
So the question for you is: What are YOUR SMART-Y goals for this year, this month? What is your strategy to buck the “8% accomplish them” odds and accomplish YOUR goals?