Your corporate goals are all set for 2018. How about your personal goals?
You may recall a year ago about this time receiving my post called “Dreaming about 2017 – A Fable”. It was a short practical guide to effective personal goal setting, full of motivational quotes and a Goals Template, just in time for your New Year’s Resolutions.
Approximately 25% of the recipients of my article read it and went through the goal setting exercise. To you I say “Congratulations!” This article is for you.
The other 75% skimmed it, put it aside for later, or trashed it. To you I say “Here’s another chance!”
For those of you who set meaningful goals for yourself for 2017, how did it go? Did you accomplish all you set out to do, or did you fall short in some (or all) of your targets?
I realize my failures in achieving goals or “New Year’s Resolutions” in the past were a result of one of seven things:
- The goals were unrealistic and unachievable;
- They were insufficiently important to me to be motivational;
- I did not translate the goals into tangible, measurable activities or action steps;
- I lacked discipline when the going got tough;
- I had no accountability partner to challenge me;
- I didn’t review my goals or measurable activities regularly and just ended up forgetting about them; or
- I was not able to deal effectively with the barriers that came up in response to my goals.
So, for those of you who fell short of achieving your goals, ask yourself “Why”. And then commit to not letting it happen to you again this year! As Stephen Covey says “the ability to make and keep commitments to oneself is the essence of developing the basic habits of effectiveness.”
Best wishes to all of you for a relaxing holiday season with family and friends, and for a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2018, however you seek your fulfillment.
