Goals. Dreams. Plans. Hopes. Resolutions.

January 1. New Year's Day. It's estimated that more than 40% of Americans make at least one New Year's resolution. This is excellent! People have goals, they have dreams, they have thoughts on what they want to accomplish during the year. But only 8% of those people actually achieve their New Year's resolution. EIGHT. PERCENT.

Why? What happens to the 92% between January 1 and December 31 (what happens to the 1/3 of people before even the end of January) that causes the failure to achieve those goals?

I'm not a researcher. I just have my own experience in both what has helped me be successful and what has contributed to past failures.

This is my blog. This is written purely to help pass along the knowledge and information I've learned, in case it can help you. So I'm going to tell you how I set goals and what helps me to be in the 8%.

First, I don't call them resolutions. The connotation with the word is failure. I also don't (only) make them on January 1. Some of my goals are small, some are large, some are related to health, others income, others business, and many are personal. But they all mean something to me. This is the first element to successful goal setting. They must mean something to you. Not to your neighbor or co-worker or best friend.

Second, I write them down. On paper they are real. And after I write them, I share them with people. Sharing your goals with people creates an element of responsibility and accountability. When the going gets tough, it's helpful to know that other people have a vested interest in your goals as well. Side note: make sure these people are supportive of you.

Third, I create a plan. So I have tangible, readable, in-your-face goals. How does that translate to my monthly actions? Weekly actions? Daily actions. Most goals need a timeline. For example, I have a goal to break 3:10 in the Boston Marathon in April. That means my monthly, weekly, and daily goals must feed into the larger goal.

I make weekly to-do lists. They are long. They include things like going to Costco, getting a car wash, and remembering to change the burned out lightbulb in the hallway. But they also include things like writing my training program, looking up recipes, and adding one core strengthening exercise per day to my routine. Off this weekly to-do list comes my daily tasks. On Monday I will look up recipes so that on Tuesday I can go to the grocery store and shop for the week. You get the picture.

By taking the large dream, breaking it down into smaller pieces, and then further itemizing into daily activities almost everything I do feeds into a larger purpose. This helps me stay focused. I've already written a blog post on that.

Lastly, I re-evaluate constantly. I re-evaluate my goals and I self assess. Have my priorities shifted? Is my timeline still appropriate? What areas can I improve upon? What am I doing well? Who can I enlist to assist me?

Failure is not inevitable. Failure truly is optional. You have to embrace your goals, you have to believe that you can achieve them, and then you have to work. Really f*cking hard sometimes. But when that hard work is all to drive you forward, upward, and towards what you truly desire, then that work becomes enjoyable and passionate and fun.

Happy New Year. Cheers to 2015.

LP

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