There is something magical about a new year. For me I can’t help but feel a sense of HOPE. Do you feel it? What happened last year is done. Some spent last year celebrating, others overcoming, and most of us somewhere in between.
To me a new year always feel like a new beginning. A time to wipe the slate clean, pull out the fresh sheets and start again. Lara Casey says, “there’s nothing magical about January 1” … but wouldn’t it be nice if there was?
It’s like when you decide to start a diet … you gotta get that one last pizza night in before you start. You know what I’m talking about!
Tuesday was like the last pizza night.
Today it’s green smoothies for breakfast and a workout before nine am.
But I know you’re like me and know that “one last pizza night” becomes just another pizza night not even two weeks later. You may not know the stats, but I know you know the feeling … statistically only 8% of people actually achieve their goals and New Years Resolutions are traditionally broken by January 15th.
But today it’s January 2nd and we’re still feeling all kinds of inspired… so grab onto that feeling. The hope. And let me give you some tips. Because Willpower is a depleting resource, and the sooner we realize that truth we can stop relying on willpower. Instead of striving to “be better” or “do better” let’s set up some parameters to make it happen instead, shall we?
Three strategies to actually achieve your goals in 2020 :
1.How are you motivated?
There are two primary types of motivation… Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. Extrinsic Motivation is geared toward external rewards and reinforcers. Some examples of external rewards are money, praise, awards, etc. Intrinsic Motivation is geared toward internal rewards and reinforcers. We can celebrate our success when we do well and we can beat ourselves up when we don’t.
So, when have you accomplished a big goal or dream in the past? How did you do it? When you’re thinking about those big dreams don’t just hope for the best…. Get some accountability!
2. Instead of the word goal, think of the idea of an “outcome”. I’ve been annually planning since I started my business nearly 10 years ago. That’s what led me to create the Principles of Planning, the guide to help wedding pros reach their success goals and turn their passion into profits. One big piece of advice I have for setting goals is to actually think less about the goal and instead replace it with the word : OUTCOME. Tony Robbins says, “we will always act consistent with who we believe we are”… It’s the same with goals. We always somehow accomplish what we TRULY want. You know where we started? One question : What do I want? I recommend you start here too.
3. Write it down. Did you know you’re 42% more likely to achieve written goals! What are the THREE big outcomes you want to achieve this year? I write them down in three categories : personal, professional, financial.
If you’d like to dig deeper into my annual planning and goal setting process, I’d love to introduce you to the Principles of Planning way! You can snag my FREE Goal Setting guided workbook.
Let’s kick of 2020 with more than just willpower, let’s go in with a plan.
Even if you are finding this midway through the year, you can always use this workbook to re-align your goals mid-year!
