It’s that time again! Another year passes, and I’m asking myself “How’d I do?” I suspect that this common practice is what’s at the root of a lot of holiday melancholy. Is it ever possible to live up to our high expectations of ourselves?
Despite the knowledge that I may not reach all of my goals, I still take stock every year and set one or two new goals. I hope I always do. While it may be discouraging to realize that the five pounds are still trapped on my hips, or that I still haven’t tackled the family room, taking stock on a regular basis definitely moves me forward. At the beginning of 2008, I decided to train for a half-marathon. While I’m fit, I’ve never been a runner, but it was challenge I was determined to take on. At the beginning of 2009 when I reflected back, I counted completing that half-marathon among my achievements for the year. In fact, I decided that perhaps I am a runner and set my sights on another half-marathon for 2009. I finished that race, a little faster than the first time, with the sweet satisfaction of accomplishing something I had set out to do. Not sure yet what’s next for 2010, but I’ll keep you posted!
Setting goals is more than making a few New Year’s resolutions. It means assessing where you are and deciding on a few reasonable steps that will help get you to where you want to be in the next year, or in the next few years. Tired of working so hard or looking for something to keep you going through a rough day? Having some short-term and long-term goals can really enrich your life, and help you sustain your energy through difficult times.
The key is to make sure your goals are doable. The best goals are not “pie-in-sky” – those are called dreams. With goals, you should be able to achieve them in a specific period of time, and it should be easy to tell if you’ve accomplished them. Here’s a goal: “To learn how to use Adobe Photoshop by March so I can produce ad copy for my employer.” It’s specific – learn to use Adobe Photoshop. It’s time-bound – by March. And, it’s got a measurable outcome – ad copy. Here’s a dream: “To live happily ever after…” We can all agree on that, but you’d need to have many, many goals between now and then to get there (wherever there is and whatever that means to you – see what I’m saying?).
Here are five questions to help you move forward right now:
- What are my short term goals for the next year?
- What steps do I need to take now to work toward my goals?
- What resources do I have, or do I need to acquire to achieve my goals?
- What barriers are there to achieving my goals?
- What will I change in order to achieve my goals?
Take a few minutes every so often to evaluate your progress. If you’ve stalled, review the questions again and see if you can determine where you’re getting stuck. Most important, don’t give up – it’s a worthy effort!
