The Exponential Power of Goal Reaching

When you break your goal into segments, it’s easy to think that you’re going to eventually reach that goal. Here’s an example: Let’s say you want to run in place for five minutes by the end of the year. Now, I’ve already done the calculations on this: I planned on running in place for five minutes. And I planned on reaching that goal by the end of the year. All I had to do was start with fifteen seconds, and add one second per day. I knew I had it! And then, I got sick … (read the rest of the article)

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How are those resolutions coming?

Well, one fourth of the year has started,  but the good news is, 75% of the year remains.

Have you given up on your New Year’s Resolution? It’s not too late:

The biggest problem with New Year’s resolutions is “bait and switch”.
Let me explain: a resolution is just something that you resolve to accomplish.

The only thing you need to do in order to have a resolution is just an inward resolve that you are going to do something.

A New Year’s resolution is just something that you resolve to do in the New Year.
And a year is a long time to achieve that.

It’s been three months, since you made your resolution, but listen, you guys. It’s not too late.
Resolve what you would like to accomplish this year.

Remember, it’s your resolution for this year, and the year is not over. Three-fourths of the year still remain!

Before we go there, let’s examine the quality of our New Year’s resolutions.
In fact, before we do that, let’s define whether or there was even  a valid resolution to begin with.

Here’s one example:

Resolving that you’re going to do push-ups every day for a year is not a good resolution.
That’s an “everyday resolution”, not a goal for the New Year as a whole.
Yes, you can do push-ups every day, but that’s not your New Year’s resolution… your New Year’s resolution should be your “why”.
Why do you want to do push-ups? To tone your upper body. That’s your New Year’s resolution: to tone your arms and “get fit”–or “fitter”.

As long as your upper body is toned and firm, you have met your New Year’s resolution.
Breaking that resolution down into Quarterly, monthly goals, etc., comes after you make your resolution.

Remember, you’re not resolving to do push-ups each day (or sit-ups, or whatever) You’re resolving to get a firm, fit upper bod this year.

Why do we set ourselves up for failure each year? It’s because we mistake a resolution with a daily goal.
Very few people who get a firmer upper body do push-ups every single day without fail. That’s because life happens.

When we mistake a resolution for a goal, we quit the first time we hit a hard day. “Oh. I missed push-ups today. I “broke” my New Year’s resolution”.
No you didn’t– –you can still be “resolved”, as in determined, to achieve that goal.
Remember, a New Year’s resolution is just something you resolve to achieve this year.

Write down what you are resolved to accomplish BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

Break that down into Seasonal goals. For example, take an arm measurement and subtract it from what measurement you want your arms to be;
alright so now you know how many inches you need to put on (or take off) by Spring, Summer, Fall, until you have reached your goal.
So, decide exactly how many inches or centimeters you need to add or increase each month (depending upon whether your are losing inches or building muscles), and develop an action plan.

Be sure your plan is realistic

If someone else shared with you the same plan that you have, would you think it was unreasonable? Be fair with yourself here; a year is a long time, but it may not be enough time for your goal, so plan accordingly

Think about planning a plan, rather than just a vague absolute.

So what exactly is a “vague absolute”? Isn’t that just an oxymoron?
Nope. See, most goals are really vague (like “be happy”) and absolute–
As in “be happy every day”.

A better “resolution” would be, “Find out what makes me happy, and then GO for it!”
After you do the first part, give yourself a week to plan out HOW to do it.
For example: “This year, I want to be happy. I want to find out what makes me happy. And then, I want to do, every day, what it takes to make me happy”.

Now, you need to know that just because you haven’t met your goal the first month, doesn’t mean that you won’t reach your goal by December 31st. When I first started doing sit-ups, I could only do three (pathetic, I know…) But by the third day, I could do eight. By the end of the week, I was doing 20. At months end, I could do fifty.
See, sometimes your goals will wax and wane in spurts. Daily goals shouldn’t be something you beat yourself up over, because

A. they are not good indicators of your chance of success and B. they are not resolutions. You need “over-all goals” and daily goals to help you get there.

Remember…you aren’t a failure if you miss a day or two (or three or four. Or even a whole month learning this stuff). You are only a failure if you stop trying to reach your yearly resolution.
Keep the end in mind and the daily goals will happen.

P.S. I just want to add, if your goal is to lose weight, you definitely need all of the support that you can get. Weight loss is TOUGH! And, it takes TIME to lose tons of pounds. More about this in my next post

How to get whatever you want out of life.

First, decide what it is you really want. Be very specific about your goal. A goal is what you want to achieve.

Next, research exactly what it’s going to take for you to reach this goal. Try to find the most thorough and timely way to do it. Some ways will cost more and take less time. Some routes to your goal will cost less, but will take longer. Balancing time and money in deciding upon your route is a disclipline that all marketers most do if they want to succeed.

Once you think you have a fairly good idea of what it will take to reach your goal, do some research– how many other marketers were able to achieve success following your proposed method?  What advice would you give someone else hoping to successfully follow your plan? It’s easy to get overly-optimistic about our own chance of success—lottery players do this all the time. But how likely, really, do you think the average person would be at making your plan work?  Good plans must be optmimistic AND realistic.

After you’ve thought about it and are fairly certain that your plan is achievable, determine what steps you will need to take each day in order to get there.

Will your plan involve calling potential clients? Creating and offering lead magnets?

A lot of marketers find it is helpful to get a second brain working with them. Consulting with other successful marketers is a good place to start.

 

 

Why your New Year’s Resolution fails you|…Like, every year.

Tell me, reader, why is it that we make impossible New Year’s goals, that we know we will fail at? I think it’s because we get obsessed with goal setting rather than goal reaching. Goal setting is what happens when twenty people say, “So what are YOUR New Year’s resolutions?” and we think, “hmmm, what should I resolve to do” ?

But now, Goal Reaching is different; It works like this…”what do I want to accomplish by the end of this year?” That’s goal reaching.

Now, take that year-end goal, and break it down. Season by season. Month by month. Week by week. Day by day.

Now here’s the deal. If you didn’t come up with some flaky resolution that sounded good, you will take the time to plan this goal out, because it’s what you really want to accomplish (not what sounds good to everyone).

Here are some “Reach your New Year’s Resolutions”  posts from last year which really dive deep into the whole psychology of setting New Years goals that get met.

How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

The secret to success….segmenting (read the full post here)