Set Goals Not Resolutions
We made it through another year of mask life and mandates. Regardless of your status, please stay safe!
It’s a new month and a new year. Let’s set goals instead of resolutions!
A resolution is defined as having “a firm decision to do or not to do something,” but a goal, is “the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.”
I stopped making resolutions a long time ago and started being intentional with goal setting instead. Last year this time I published my book How to be a Goal Achiever. A goal setting system designed to organize and strategize a 12 month goal, breaking it into smaller quarterly goals. Having a goal is one thing, but how you go about achieving it, is important.
Kick off! Q1: Identify your “Big Picture” Goal
Take that long list of goals you typed or wrote out, and identify one goal off of that list that you believe you can achieve in a year. This becomes your “big picture” goal. The 12 month goal you will break into quarterly goals. Every quarter you have three months to set actionable steps to move you forward toward accomplishing the 12 month goal.
Let’s use buying a home as a “big picture” goal. This is a goal you could achieve in a year’s time. You have to determine what steps you need to take to purchase that home. In quarter one maybe you need to get your finances right, create a budget plan, save money, repair your credit, pay down/off debt. Quarter two, you may up your savings, get a second job, get a higher paying job etc.
Goal, Action Steps, Results
Every month you’ll have no more than three goals (that tie in with what you have to do in order to get to the big picture - the 12 month goal). You’ll create action steps and you’ll record the results. Recording the results is how you measure the success and/or failure of the goal. This is equally as important to keep you on track.
I’ve included a task list and a doodle pad in the book. Your action plan becomes your task list. The doodle pad is for any thoughts that pop up, ideas. The thing about goal setting is once you start organizing your goals, you’re rewiring your brain. Creativity is sparked, you become focused and motivated.
Football fandom
“The game of life is a lot like football. You have to tackle your problems, block your fears, and score your points.”
Think of your goals like a football game. You will “kick off” the first quarter. You gain yardage with the first and second down (Q1, Q2). At the halfway yearly mark is your halftime. You’ll use this time to review and reflect on where you are with achieving those small goals and if you’ve moved closer to the big picture goal. You scored a touch down once you made it to the end zone, the 4th quarter.
set goals not resolutions
“Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.”
Developing this goal setting system derived out of me being strategic in my goal setting. I had a five year plan, I took five of those goals on the list and each year identified one as the 12 month goal. In 2021, I accomplished 4 out of 5 of those goals; writing the book was one of those accomplishments.
Goals + Actions = Results. Setting goals is the easy part, achieving them is the challenge. When goals aren’t organized, you become overwhelmed, become unmotivated and lose focus. But with a system in place, you will be efficient and motivated when you see clear as day how much you’ve accomplished toward achieving the big picture goal.
It’s the first quarter…buy the book and get started now!
Be great…the world needs more of that!
XO ~ Gillian
