How much time did you spend planning your last vacation? Did you research where you would stay, which local restaurants to check out, and which activities and sights were not to be missed? Or did you just say, ‘Hey let’s go to Greece next Thursday’ and buy a plane ticket? Many people spend hours planning their vacations, down to the most obscure detail and one week of vacation represents only about two percent of your year.
What if you spent as much time planning for how you will reach your goals as you spend planning a week away?
The things we resolve or set goals about at the beginning of the year are the things that we claim to want the most out of lives:
Health
Financial Security
Success
Strong Relationships
Don’t the things that determine your happiness and satisfaction with life deserve as much attention as your free time? Our goals need to be planned for, mapped out.
We’ve talked a little about setting goals (or resolutions) the past week or so but we haven’t really looked at how are we going to accomplish them. Setting a goal (especially if it’s a SMART goal) is a great first step, unfortunately it’s where many people stop and that’s why they don’t reach their goals. You have to take the next step, breaking the goals into smaller tasks and achievements. What will you do and when will you do it each month, week, hour, and minute – what actions and behaviors will you take to help you reach your goals? What mindset will help you reach your goals?
Now put those actions in your calendar as appointments – and KEEP THEM, or assign blocks of time to different behaviors, make a list – – – whatever you need to do (and WILL do) to keep yourself on track.
