New Year. New Goals.

I love goal setting...it's the adult equivalent of "what do you want to be when you grow up?"   And, the New Year is prime time to be a self-improvement junkie. 

It's proven that if you write down your goals and share them with others, you are much more likely to actually transform those goals into a reality. They call it accountability and thought expansion. I call it a fear of failure and/or public shaming.  :-) 

During the first year in my career, I attended a coaching workshop (one of many).  Toward the end of the program, they asked us to write down our SPECIFIC goals regarding family, health, wealth, charity and friendships that we hoped to accomplish within the next year.   We then placed it in a self addressed envelope which was mailed out to us 300+ days later.  Sounds hokey, right?   Like writing a letter to Santa...as an adult.  I get it.  I felt the same way.   The real shocker?    When that letter arrived the following year I was beyond excited to open it. Mostly because I knew I had rocked my goals but, also, it was a cool Back-To-The-Future moment where "old me" was holding "present me" accountable.  It forced me to reflect and acknowledge what I COULD accomplish if I did the work and held the mindset CONSISTENTLY throughout the year.  

We implemented this little exercise in our own family in the following years but, with a twist:  around Christmas, everyone would jot down on small pieces of paper SPECIFIC goals they wanted to reach by that time next year.  We would then shove these little bits of papers into cheap ornaments with our names on them to smash open the following year on Christmas day.   I can’t tell you that this new tradition was met with complete enthusiasm by two teenage boys but, they did take great pride in the clever and ever changing techniques utilized each year to smash the ornament.   It's the small victories, folks. 

The word "SPECIFIC" is 100% key.  If you think in vague terms your brain automatically does not treat it as a game plan.  It treats it as a "wish."    Instead of saying "I hope to be in better shape", say "I will sign up and run at least one marathon."   Once you know your goals, break them out in bitesized bits that you can tackle every day in some way.   Because a person just doesn't get up one morning and decides to run a marathon.  They train and tweak their workout routine...every day, week and month leading up to the race.  They do the work. 

 Whatever your goals are for the new year…give it space to expand in your mind and in your life. Think of how you will feel when you reach those goals…and think about that feeling often. Make a plan.  Be consistent.  Be intentional.  The payoff will always follow.    Happy New Year, my friends!