Conquering the Goal (Setting) Posts
Strategies to win the game this coming year! Hat tip to Sarra Cannon of HeartBreathings, FlyLady, and Sheng Huang for some of the ideas that I've added to here for my own soup.
Yes, New Year's Resolutions CAN work. But, most people don't set them in the right way, to get them too work. Hear me out..
So, say you have a goal (which is better than a resolution - because resolution means end, not beginning - a goal is something that every time you overcome challenges and reach it you get points!) like winning the Olympic downhill ski event. (okay, you should have started sooner, but we are going with this.)
You use the "But, First..." goal setting technique.
Goal: Win the event. But, first I need to (What is the goal that just precedes that?)
Goal: Get into the Olympics. But, first I need to...
Goal: Get a good coach. But, first I need to..
Goal: Practice skiing a lot. But, first i need to..
Goal: Get an indoor ski membership, because summer. But first I need to
Goal: Get clothing and skis. But first I need to..
Goal: Make some extra money. But first I need to.
Goal: Find a job. But first I need to..
Goal: Update/create my resume. But first, I need to.
Goal: Decide what job I want that will let me ski later, so I can tailor my resume. But first...
Hey! We have reached the base. The place where there is not smaller task/goal that can be broken down. IF you can't do the last thing on the list in a very short amount of time (relatively), then you might need to break it down more. Until that first step, is so easy that you can do it nearly in your sleep.
And why?
Because when we are setting BIG goals for the year (Resolutions…). We are thinking about how amazing it will be, to BE that person/etc. And we expect to wake up January 1 and be the person who is ALREADY doing that thing.
Can you imaging driving up to the big hill with a couple of boards to strap to your tennis shoes and your hunting jacket on and just going for it! Yeah, freezing, crashing, sore, you may power through 1 day, or 1 week, or even a couple of months. And then the snow melts and you have a broken arm, and frostbite, so you quit.
You have to start with the person and abilities and resources that you are/have today.
That way, when you wake up tomorrow, you aren't dreading the drubbing you are going to get. You instead have one tiny step to take, and that step seems infinitely doable. And the next day is the next step, and so on. And by the END of the year...
You have either completed the Big Goal (Yay team, we win!) or you have at least progressed along the path. And if you ran into a spot where things became too overwhelming - then you just "But, first..." it. Because it's likely that it can be broken down into more manageable bits.
You aren’t expecting yourself to be someone who just started Little League who got drafted to play in the final game of the World Series. While it would be a dream (or nightmare!), we shouldn’t be doing that to ourselves! Instead we practice and work and play game after game, getting those home runs! Scoring the points and celebrating the little wins that build up along the way. (By the way, I quit Little League when I was a kid, after 3 weeks because you had to sell candy bars to raise money.)
And if you evaluate it and decide that you don't want that goal any more. You now have a much clearer reason as to why things didn't work out, or why you don't want it, which will help you make better decisions and goals the next round.
I suggest evaluating every quarter or 1/2 year, so you aren't wasting time and you can adjust your timeline if needed. (Daggone skis are expensive! Gonna have to work an extra 6 months, or get a different job!)
So, to recap:
Decide a goal
But, First..., to break it down into many small daily/weekly tasks
Plan for the person you are today as the first/easiest step
Get points for each goal
Win the game!
I also suggest no more than 3-5 BIG goals a year. The reason being that once you break those all the way down, you start to see how much time it will take to complete them. That combined with Life (tm) could totally overwhelm you again and cause you to quit. AND if you do finish 3 of them and you still have year left over, then you can add more in for the rest of the year!
No need to be all Resolute! You can start in your PJs! What could be easier!
Good Luck and Happy New Year!