New Year, New Goals, New Habits

Courtesy Free Digital Media

The new year has well and truly arrived, and now is the perfect time to set the goals that will power you to success for the year ahead.  Goal setting makes our intentions explicit, but it is only the beginning of the work that will lead to success.  We also need to create new habits that will make our goals stick, so that our intentions become our reality. Forming new habits is where the real hard work begins, as it requires us to make some changes.  Change is not always easy, and the wisdom of Socrates teaches us that ‘If we keep doing what we are doing, we are going to keep getting what we are getting.’   Changing outcomes, requires changing what we do.  It requires intentional action.  If goals are our intentions, then habits are our actions.  Create new daily habits or actions that will serve you well and lead you to achieve your goals, little by little, bit by bit, day by day.

John Maxwell – author, speaker, and pastor who has written over 70 books – primarily on leadership, has the following insights on improvements for the new year:

“Whether you want to improve your health or grow your business, or you have any other long-term improvement goal, keep these insights in mind:

Improvement Insights:

1. Don’t be afraid to admit you were wrong.
We can’t change if we’re unwilling to recognize that there might be something wrong with how we’ve been doing things. Admitting you were wrong proves you are wiser today than you were yesterday. One of the things I always do when I review the past year is identify where I wasn’t productive.

2. You will never change your life until you change something that you do daily.
Improvement is based on two things: the decisions we make; and the disciplines we practice. Acting on our decisions daily is what makes a goal a reality. So identify daily disciplines you intend to practice in 2015.

3. You cannot manage what you cannot measure.
Be specific in creating your goals. For example, don’t say, “I’m going to read more this year.” Instead, break it down into measurable increments: “I’m going to read two chapters per day in whatever book I’m reading” or “I’m going to read two books a month.”

4. Set realistic expectations for your improvement.
Want to lose weight? Be realistic in how many pounds or kilograms you can reasonably expect to lose in a month. There’s no greater recipe for failure than setting a “goal” that’s little more than a “pipe dream.”

5. Continual change is essential for continual improvement.
One of the great paradoxes of success is that the things which got you there are seldom the things which keep you there. Be prepared to make course corrections and continue to stretch and grow throughout the year. To do that, plan a review of your plan every few months.

6. Motivation gets you started. Habits keep you going.
We tend to overestimate what we can do in a month. We underestimate what we can do in a year. That’s why so many New Year’s resolutions are broken in the first few months. Focus on establishing habits, and you’ll be able to continue when the motivation fades.

7. Focus.
William Jones said, “If you would be rich, you will be rich; if you would be good, you will be good; if you would be learned, you will be learned.  But wish for one thing exclusively, and don’t at the same time wish for a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.” What is the one area in which you most desire to grow and succeed in the coming year?

8. Spend 80% of your time working on your strengths.
This refers to your skill set, not your character. There are two weak areas in character that must be addressed because they will hurt you: self-discipline and attitude. But in your skills, focus on developing and growing in your areas of strength. Growing in a weak area might bring you up to average in that area. But growth in a strength area has the potential to make you exceptional! What is your greatest strength? And how can you improve it?

Review your past year and set goals as you enter this new year. But remember, success develops daily, not in a day.

One way to stay on track is to regularly ask yourself this question: “Is what I am doing today getting me closer to my goal tomorrow?” Develop good habits and the discipline to keep them, and evaluate every day, and you’ll stay on course toward achieving your long-term goals.”

What new habits do you intend to implement this year?