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This year has been a crazy year in my house.
I started to blog, my wife quit her job, and we have taken on new responsibilities at our church.
To say this year has been hectic would be an understatement.
I can not wait to see what the new year brings.
Yet I already know some of the things that it will bring. That is because I have set specific goals for my life this year.
Here are a few of my goals for the new year:
- Blog at least three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
- Write a non-fiction book
- Run a 10K with the possibility of a 15K
- Participate in a mud run
- Ice climb
- Walk with my wife daily
- Complete 4 books with my wife
- Read 24 books
As you can see, my goals contain a mixture of personal development, physical development, and family time. All three areas are important in my life.
Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.
— Brian Tracy, Eat that Frog
When you set goals for yourself, you are helping map out your year. You have direction. You have a roadmap for success.
You can look at your goals and see what you have accomplished. I can tell you it feels good to see the goals on your list checked completed.
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Last year, I implemented SMART goals. TopAchievement laid out SMART goals as:
- Specific
Make sure your goals are specific. If you can not clearly define your goal, it is not specific.Lose weight is not specific. Set an amount you want to lose. “I want to lose 15 pounds” is a specific goal. - Measurable
You want to be able to measure your goals. If you can not measure a goal, you will not know if you are making progress.One of my goals this year is to blog three times a week. That is measurable. I can track whether or not I am meeting the goal. - Attainable
The goals you set should be tough for you. Yet they need to be attainable. Goals that are unattainable will discourage you. Goals that are attainable will encourage you. - Realistic
Are you willing to work towards the goal? If so, you are on the track to having a realistic goal.Make sure the goal is something that is tough and will take work. But make it is something that motivates you to move towards completing the goal. - Timely
Set a time limit on your goals. Placing a time constraint makes the goal more urgent and real.Having your goal bound by a time limit also allows you to measure it with more accuracy. You are able to see how you are progressing towards your goal and whether or not you need to step up your game.
Let me encourage you with my results from last year’s goals.
- I lost 45 pounds
- I started blogging
- I exercise three times a week for at least 20 minutes
- Replaced the front door on our house
There were also goals I did not accomplish last year. However that is okay. Progress was made. My life moved forward towards the goals that were important to me.
I was able to measure what I completed. That is what matters.
Have you established your goals for this year? If not, please take time today to establish goals and write them out.
I know it can be hard to do. It was one of the hardest tasks I completed last year. However there are great resources available to you.
Dan Miller has a great set of resources at 48days.net and I recommend his material highly. Dan’s resources are available at 48days.net.
I believe creating goals is one of the most important things you will do. Taking the time to write out your goals will forever change your life.
If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.
— Yogi Berra
Question: Have you created goals for yourself before? How has it affected your life? Please share your experience in the comment section below.
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