The Art of Making A Goal

It's that time of year again where we consider making New Year's Resolutions. Statistics show that only about 15% of New Year's Resolutions are kept. Another Survey included asking respondents to identify the biggest issue that prevents them from achieving their New Year's Resolutions or goals. The top 3 reasons identified were 33% Procrastinating, 24% Lack of discipline and 19% No game plan. Interestingly enough, 10% of individuals felt the biggest issue that prevents them from achieving their New Year's Resolution or goals was doing it alone. These statistics are not listed to discourage you, however to reflect the importance of planning and achieving a positive outcome.

Goals are usually put in place to help us succeed. It gives a clear vision of where to go, why we should go there and what to expect along the way. Goals also involve change, and people are put off by change and associate it with discomfort (ie. Fitness goal when involving exercise/ dietary changes). We can keep motivated with our goals by asking ourselves some powerful questions like;

• "Why do you want this change?"
• "Are you ready for this change?"
• "Do you know what to expect?"
• "What are you prepared to do to get it?"
• "What would have to happen that might stop you from reaching this goal?"

With these questions, we can literally change our minds to do things differently. Change doesn't have to be difficult, it can be quick and lasting. The task is to focus on how we will be when we achieved our outcome, as this gives the unconscious mind a description of where it needs to take us. The nervous system is unable to differentiate between a real and imaginary experience. When we stop giving ourselves a hard time and shift our focus from what is wrong or missing, or what we don't want, to what we do want, we will begin to feel better. The unconscious mind will let go of negative patterns with dead end results, and adapt a new behaviour which matches our "new image". The stronger the connection between our desired outcome and our sense of self the more compelled we will be to achieve it, using questions like;

"How does this outcome relate to my sense of self?"

"What would happen if I got my outcome?"

"Will this outcome enhance my sense of who I am?"

Also, the more clearly thought out and distinctive our goals are, the more actively we will pursue them. An effective tool can be the S.M.A.R.T system:

SPECIFIC - State the goal so that the exact outcome is understood

MEASURABLE - State a goal where success can be measured

ACTION-ORIENTED- State a goal that promotes action towards accomplishment

TIMED - Set an appropriate deadline for meeting the goal

"Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal." - Pamela Vaull Starr