Goals & Resolutions - A Journey in Change
It’s a new year – 2021 – the year we have all been yearning for! Happy New Year! What will you do with the next 360+ days? Many of us will return to last year’s resolutions related to health, finances, spiritual disciplines, and other measures of wellness or success – resolutions we easily fell short of by March of this past year. Sure, we can all blame COVID-19 for many things – and indeed it was, and is, disruptive! But was 2020 really that different than 2019 or 2018 or other years past as far as our reaching our personal and professional goals? Did we actually make it past February or March, in staying true to the bold and life-changing resolutions in prior years – “the ghosts of New Years’ past?”
Granted, sometimes we meet these goals – 8% of us do, anyway. A whopping 25% of us make it to February each year with the same resolutions! That’s pitiful, if you ask me! A simple Google search will yield many articles on this topic, so what else needs to be said? (See this recent Forbes.com article on this topic)
As a coach and consultant, I want to provide some insights that might open up a new avenue of thinking for some of you reading this, based on some things I have discussed with my own family, work or volunteer teams, and clients over the years, which are applicable to both your personal and professional life. The principles are faith-based as well, so you may choose to connect the ideas which resonate with you with Scriptures or verses that are meaningful and will be reminders to you throughout the year.
First, it is important to recognize that real and lasting change – changes in your finances or health, improvements to personal relationships, changes in yourself – takes place over time. It is a process and does not happen overnight! My pastor recently likened this idea to gardening. When we plant a seed, we do not simply throw it on the ground or set it out on the table expecting it to grow to its full potential. Rather, we establish all the conditions necessary for that seed to live and grow and thrive. The seed is the hopeful beginning of a plant that will eventually bear fruit (or vegetables or flowers – or even a tree that lasts for generations!). We all know this – that the seed requires good soil and adequate nutrients in that soil, water, sunlight, carbon dioxide, proper pruning of diseased or unproductive branches, and ongoing cultivation or fertilizing of the soil. If you consider that your resolution or goal is that “hopeful beginning,” what are you doing to prepare the soil and what are your plans to cultivate it until its completion? Likewise, some will liken such change, or growth, to a journey. What are you doing to prepare for the obstacles, challenges, excitement, and unexpected detours along your journey? Have you done all you can, as the Boy Scout motto suggests, to “Be Prepared?”
I want to suggest that preparing your mindset and your approach to change, is the first step to a successful goal-setting, and goal-achieving, journey. One way to prepare is to take inventory of your life, your leadership, your organization/workplace, your health, your finances, etc. Download this “Wheel of Your Life” exercise and give it some thought and prayer as you complete it – possibly with a spouse, close friend, or professional mentor. This exercise creates a simple but powerful visual that quickly shows you where your most urgent needs for a balanced and healthier lifestyle may be. It not only provides an illustration for taking inventory of all areas of life you deem important, but also prioritizes the needed focus areas for change.
After completing your “Wheel of Life,” determine the priority areas and specific changes you would like to make, and write each one down in the form of a SMART goal. (If you have not created SMART goals before, check out this article from Indeed.com or contact me here to assist.) With this mindset, reminding yourself that change is a process or a journey, you can produce an honest assessment of where you are currently and set personal and professional goals which move you forward towards where you want to be one year from now. Granted, some goals will not take a full year, and others may take more than one year. Nonetheless, by practicing the research-based and proven SMART goal method, you can make progress and reassess as needed.
Along the way to your new goals, if you are like most Americans (and not among the aforementioned 8%), you will get too tired, too busy, too discouraged, or otherwise distracted along the way to personal or professional growth or change. Hence, you may be a part of the 92% who have not reached a goal or even continued pursuing such resolutions any further than Valentine’s Day! It’s ok – you are not alone! But let’s choose to be different and keep our focus – our “eyes on the prize” – throughout the year. How can we practically do this?
One of mindset shifts that is a prerequisite for getting back up when we fall short and maintaining our “grit” is to understand that change is rarely, if ever, a “one and done” kind of action. Remember – it’s a process. This simple truth implies that we will need to give ourselves grace when we fail, get back up again, and somehow find the motivation to keep moving forward – perhaps adjusting our goals as needed. What keeps you motivated and focused on your goals? The most important things that help me maintain grit are keeping my spiritual life healthy, getting enough rest and recreation (taking time off when needed), and keeping in close contact with those who mean the most to me. As you can see from the “Wheel of Life” exercise, any one of these areas falling short will make for a bumpy wheel and therefore a very rough ride through life! Additionally, I really enjoy having motivational quotes, meaningful Bible verses, and photographs of family or nature, constantly visible to remind me throughout the day of principles to live by and those things which are most important, lasting, and enjoyable in life.
If you do not already have a method for staying motivated, I suggest you first mark your calendar monthly or quarterly for the entire year, to do a goal check-in or schedule time to refocus yourself. Also, find pictures of family or nature or some representation of your goals or dreams to keep front of mind daily. Place these images or quotations on your bathroom mirror, create a screensaver for your computer or background image on your smart phone, or even purchase or create a wall hanging for your dining or living room or office. Plan ahead to recommit, and reach out to a trusted loved one, friend, or advisor to keep you accountable. (If you would like to learn more about Leadership Coaching, contact me here, complete the online form, and let’s discuss ways I can provide a sounding board and feedback as your coach).
My final reminder to you, in order to ensure a healthy mindset for maintaining resolutions and goals in the new year, is to beware of fear creeping into your mind and life. It is safe to say that most people resist or do not like change – and some are simply afraid to change or afraid of change! Humans have all kinds of fears – including not only fear of change, but also fear of success and fear of the unknown and others. We all share them, quite frankly. But beware of the damage this does to your mindset! My Christian faith teaches me very clearly to “be not afraid.” I have not counted personally, but depending upon your translation of the Bible, there are easily over 100 references to this phrase. Some claim there are as many as 365 references throughout Scripture to “do not be afraid” or something similar or those verses which counter fear – one for each day! (See a list of many of them at this Catholic-Resources.org link) In short, it would be easy – especially right now in early 2021 – to identify many fears for our loved ones, our financial security, our ability to be successful, etc. Healthy warning and boundaries are one thing, but fearing your own success or ability to meet your goals is entirely another. Please do not fear change or personal growth, or let fear paralyze you this year.
When approached holistically, planned alongside or shared with those who know you best and love you most, and the “desires of your heart” for your life in the form of SMART goals are written down, your odds for success increase from that pitiful average of 8% of goal completion to a low of 43% to as much as a 76% completion rate! (Research from psychologist Dr. Gail Matthews has shown this empirically, according to this Michigan State University article).
You are setting yourself up for success – not failure – by taking assessment, developing and writing down smart goals, and creating external forms of accountability and check-ins on your journey. Good luck, God bless, and let me know if I can help.
Copyright © 2021 by Scott K. Niermann
The views expressed in these postings are my own. They do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of my employer or clients.
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