how to set goals in a way that you'll reach them The New Year has always had a way of ushering in hope, optimism and a chain of proverbial promises for self-improvement and change. Goal setting is a powerful tool and carries a bevy of benefits such as motivation, confidence and the empowerment to achieve one’s wants and desires. Nearly everyone has set a goal at some point but the sad truth, according to Statistic Brain, is that of all Americans who make a resolution during this hopeful time of year, only eight percent will succeed. The prime suspects as to why 92 percent of New Year’s Resolutions fail can often be attributed to goals being too vague, too complex, unrealistic and the motivation behind the goal being completely misaligned with the commitment required to complete it. While the New Year feels like as good of a time as any to set a goal, it is important to put some work in before goal setting to improve the chances of your resolution coming to fruition. Here are five ways to prepare, plan and proof your goals to last rather than come down with the rest of the holiday decorations and be packed away until next year. 1. define the purpose and intentions Having a sense of what is motivating you to complete your goal in the first place is the best way to define what the purpose of your goal will be. In his best-selling book, True North, Bill George defines two types of motivation–extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivations, like getting a promotion at work or earning more money, are weighted by the views of the outside world. Intrinsic motivations, such as, the desire to help and volunteer in your community or taking more pride in your work form from what George describes as, “your deepest desires, not the world’s adulation.” After pinpointing the purpose of your goal it is also important to figure out your intentions and how the goal will fit in your life. Will the goal fulfill a desire? Do you intend for your new goal to have an effect on your work, relationships, finances or self-esteem? By establishing and honing the purpose, intentions and the vision for your goals, you will be able to curate a stronger plan. 2. be realistic and set expectations There are days when 24 hours just do not seem like enough to accomplish anything, let alone taking on a new goal but as the old adage goes, whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well. Exercises such as mapping out your schedule for the week, including your commitments, obligations and shows you just can't live without, will help you find the gaps in which you can devote time to your goal. The hour you have to spare between work and the next item on your agenda may be all the time you need to work your goal into a habit. As any manager or CEO will tell you, proper goal setting and a strategy are the lifeblood to any successful organization but just because you are not running a Fortune 500 company does not mean you can’t plan like one. First published in the 1981 issue of Management Review, George Doran’s S.M.A.R.T. goals are not only useful for writing goals and objectives for managers and businesses but personal goals as well. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based, make up the widely accepted and popular acronym as a way to make goals simple, concise and more achievable. One of the most sought after goals on the New Year’s Resolutions list is to save more money. This goal is also very ambiguous. As a S.M.A.R.T. goal, “saving more money” looks like: Between now and April, I plan to save more money by only eating out once a week, put $20 more dollars into my savings account on paydays and repurpose my clothes instead of buying new ones so that I can afford a vacation in June. From flipping the once vague goal of wanting to save more money to a S.M.A.R.T. goal, it is easier to see the what, how and why of your goal. Being realistic with the time you have to make your goals actionable and being clear on how you plan to pursue your goal can empower you to get the work done and withstand any obstacles that will be thrown your way. 3. embrace change and be resilient Meetings running late, assignments build up and emergencies happen just when you think you have gotten everything under control. Simply put, life happens. Of all the unexpected occurrences that life can deal, it is important to keep in mind and develop a contingency plan should your goals begin to go askew. Rather than fear change or allow it to completely derail your goal, determining in advance the actions you will take to stay on track can be done through the use of if-then planning. Social psychologist, Dr. Heidi Grant explains the benefits of if-then planning in her May 2014 Harvard Business Review article, Get Your Team to Do What It Says It’s Going to Do. “If-then plans work because contingencies are built into our neurological wiring,” Grant says. “Humans are very good at encoding information in “If x, then y” terms and using those connections (often unconsciously) to guide their behavior. When people decide exactly when, where, and how they will fulfill their goals, they create a link in their brains between a certain situation or cue (“If or when x happens”) and the behavior that should follow (“then I will do y”). In this way, they establish powerful triggers for action.” Here are examples of how to create your own if-then plan:
Though it may take serenity to accept what you cannot change and you may have to muster up the courage to change what you can, be sure to take the time to create a plan for the mishaps and how to be resilient when they appear. 4. find an accountability partner What motivates people to share their desired goal with another person or their followers on social media relates to the feeling of wanting to be held accountable. If someone knows what you are setting out to do, they will inevitably ask you about it, serving as the motivation to make progress and be able to proudly tell them what you have accomplished. This can work best in the form of taking on an accountability partner. An accountability partners is a way to have someone to check-in with about your progress and encourage you to reach the next milestone. Identifying an accountability partner that has already undertaken your goal and found success is beneficial in that she or he may have already faced the adversity that you may experience and will be able to not only listen and empathize with you but also offer advice. While there are benefits to sharing your goals with people it is important to know that the way in which you tell others your good news may have an adverse impact on your motivation to actually complete the goal. As someone may tell you after dropping a juicy secret, there is research that suggests the best way to achieve your goal is to keep it to yourself. First developed as a theory by Kurt Lewin in 1926 and noted by Peter Gollwitzer, Paschal Sheeran, Verena Michalski and Andrea E. Seifert through a series of experiments in their article, When Intentions Go Public, studies show that when a person announces their goal they develop a sense of social reality. Derek Sivers breaks this down further in his 2010 TED Talk, Keep Your Goals to Yourself. Sivers says that social reality is the warm and fuzzy feelings of pride and accomplishment that makes people feel good when they go public with their goal even though they have yet to complete it. This sense of satisfaction fools the brain into thinking you have already completed the goal which can result in a lack of motivation to do the work required to truly conquer your plan. A way to circumvent social reality when sharing your goal with your accountability partner or others boils down to the way it is communicated. Instead of saying, “this September I am going to run a 5K,” you can say, “I plan to be ready to run a 5K by September by jogging three times a week starting in January. Give me a hard time about it if you see me slacking.” Taking on an accountability partner and even following or subscribing to a newsletter from your favorite fitness guru, blogger, life coach or entrepreneur can serve as a daily reminder to remain committed to accomplishing your goal. 5. know what success will mean It is very likely that you may share a goal with any of the other seven billion people around the world. How you determine success, however, is completely and uniquely your own and crucial to define while planning out your goal. If your goal is to take more initiative at work, does success mean volunteering to lead new projects or taking the first steps to find a mentor? If your goal is to be more present with the people in your life, does success for you mean being able to sit through a dinner or have more meaningful conversations without feeling the need to reach for your phone? Having the ability to identify and know ahead of time what success means for you will not only serve as further motivation to complete your goal but can also help you develop plans on how to get it done. As children we are taught to dream big but when it comes to planning out what success will look like it is also beneficial to plan small. Breaking a goal into smaller bits or “chunking” as it is sometimes referred to, makes a large goal seem achievable by cutting it down into more digestible wins. For example, rather than saying you that you would like to sell $1,000 worth of apparel from your new clothing line in the next six months, you can break this down by setting the goal to sell at least $41 worth of apparel every week. For a budding entrepreneur, this may mean selling two or three garments each week which can be less intimidating and overwhelming but will achieve the same results. A clear definition of what success will mean to you, breaking your goal into smaller pieces and even downloading apps to help track your plan will help make your goals seem more attainable and can also enable you to begin building healthy habits. When it's all said and done... Though New Year’s Resolutions may have developed a bad rap over the years and serve as an easy punch-line to a late-night TV joke, setting goals is no laughing matter. The act of taking initiative to improve any aspect of life through making a goal is an achievement in itself but you must put in work while planning the goal if you want to eventually cross the finish line. Devoting the time to define your goal, setting expectations, embracing adversity, ensuring accountability and determining what success will mean to you can make all the difference in creating a fleeting resolution or building the foundation to happy lifestyle change.
2 Comments
Tiarra Comer
1/5/2017 09:40:55 pm
Soror!!! I love you, this blog and your site. Look forward to reading future posts!
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Kent Harris
1/7/2017 02:30:13 pm
So proud of you Zainab! This definitely helped me put my goals in perspective.
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