Well, ‘07 is almost to a close, and it’s coming to that time where most people will be sitting down and thinking to themselves “did I really do what I wanted in ‘07?”, and “what should I resolve to do in ‘08?”.
The problem with doing such is that unfortunately, most people don’t follow through… a sad but true fact.
How many friends or family resolve to “go to the gym and lose weight”, or “I promise to quit smoking”.
And for the average person, it works, it sticks… for about 2 weeks.
Then the excuses come in, “Oh it’s raining today, I don’t think I’ll go for that jog” or “Damn that client really ticked me off, I’m going to have a smoke”.
And the downward spiral sets in.
Here is what happens, one good habit you break, not only breaks that good habit, but destroys just a little bit more all future good habits you either have or will choose to adopt into your life.
Some people are able to make these resolutions, and stick to them. Good for them, but they are the exception not the rule.
There are three things I will be doing at the end of this year, the first is a recollection of the last year, who I spoke to, what I learned, how far I’ve come, the things I’ve, how I’ve grown as a person, friend, business person, father and husband.
Introspection often yields it’s own great results, it sometimes makes glaringly clear the things you should, and shouldn’t be doing.
The second thing is looking at my current life plan and working out this year, what do I want to do (if you don’t yet have a life plan, take some time to do it, it’s a work in progress, constantly changing and evolving, but you should have one, preferably written down).
By going through what I want to accomplish this year, it sets my RAS towards doing those things. Looking back at last years objectives of what I wanted to accomplish, and working out what I did, guess what I found, I have done about 30% of list.
You might look at that and go well, that’s not very good… I look at that, and go GREAT!, why? Because that’s 30% more than I would have done had I started out the year with no plan at all. (I also set objectives that are far reaching, that are going to force me to grow as a human being, so for me to do even 30% is a stretch).
The last thing I’ll be doing, is going through all the things I’m grateful for. The things that have showed up in my life this year (and those that have continued to be in my life), the things that have made a difference. My son, my wife, my business partner, my team, my family. A few of many things I’m grateful for this year.
Take this time to not just plan for the year (plan the year don’t do the “New Years Resolution”), but to go through what you’ve done, and what you are grateful for.
Make today a brilliant day.
Daniel Turner
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I find that just writing down my goals is half the battle; the other half is execution. Developing a timeline with specific milestones along the way toward completion really keeps me on track.
I agree with your assessment that 30% of your goals achieved is really fantastic, especially if you really reached on your goal setting. By giving yourself “stretch” goals, you may not accomplish all of them (and you probably shouldn’t) but you will accomplish far more than you would naturally expect.
Here’s to a prosperous 2008 and a Happy New Year!
Brad