Setting Goals For The New Year

At the end of each year, a lot of people make series of New Year resolutions that are usually unrealistic as they let go of these resolutions as soon as they are in the New Year. It is important therefore to set goals; realistic goals for yourself. In setting these goals, you need to ask yourself these few questions;

 1.       What are the two things you want to stop in 2014?

 2.       What are the two things you want to start in 2014?

 3.       What are the two things you want to continue doing in 2014?

It is important for you to answer these questions honestly and sincerely, only then can a realistic goal be set for the coming year. Consequently, the acronym SMART can be used to measure and to guide you into realizing and achieving your set goals.

The first acronym is ‘S’ which stands for specific. To achieve a goal, you have to be specific about what you really want. Having so many things at the same time may lead to confusion and you may end up not achieving anything. So be specific and then focus on it. To set a specific goal, you must ask yourself, what do I want to achieve? Who is involved? And finally establish a time frame.

The second acronym is ‘M’ which stands for measurable. After setting your goals, you should be able to tell how much of progress you have made and what evidence  you have of this progress.

The third acronym is ‘A’ which stands for attainable. Set goals that are attainable by figuring out how to make them come true. You should develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them.

The fourth acronym is ‘R’ which stands for realistic: to be realistic, a goal must represent an objective towards which you are willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. A high goal is frequently easy to achieve than a low one because low goals exerts low motivation force.

The last of these acronyms is ‘T’ which is timely. A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. A goal you mean to achieve should be set quarterly and not yearly or ‘someday’.

Finally, lasting success and achievement cannot be attained without a goal. You must set a goal for your business, academics, personal life and so on. Successful people do.