You also want to “find the balance” with a goal, making it not too easy, but also not so hard that you may get frustrated and give up. Make it something that you want, but also something that you know you can accomplish if you put your mind to it. For example, if for the last 20 years you’ve got drunk with your friends on a Friday night, that obviously is a long-term habit that will be very difficult to break. Instead, cut that down into a couple of easier-to-achieve goals, such as refusing to do any more shots with them, or limiting yourself to a specific number of drinks. Or, only meeting them every OTHER Friday night. The key is to take a DIFFICULT goal and chop it up into 2 or 3 easier goals that you can definitely accomplish.
Don’t have too many goals, either. There may be 10 or 20 things that you want to change in your life, but if you try focusing on each and every one of them you’ll find that your willpower diluted. Pick the 1 or 2 MOST IMPORTANT goals (one personal, and one professional) and focus on them. You’ll soon find that you’ll be able to accomplish them much easier because they have all your attention.
Good habits that you want to develop aren’t necessarily the same as goals. Goals have a specific resolution to let you know when it’s accomplished. For example, it’s a good money “habit” to save a little cash, but a good money “goal” would be specifically how much to save.
Goal Setting Tips:
- Write it down, don’t just think of it in your head! Something incredible happens when you write down a goal as it just takes on a life of its own, and somehow seems more important than it would otherwise be.
- Be as specific as possible. Write down WHAT your goal is, HOW you intend on achieving it, and WHY it is important to you.
- Visualize accomplishing it, and see in your “mind’s eye” the circumstances surrounding its achievement. Constantly THINK of the goal as having already been accomplished.
- Attach emotion to it, and FEEL the joy you’ll experience when all your friends and family realize that you’ve accomplished your goal.
- Find the balance: not too easy, not too hard; challenge yourself, but don’t set yourself up for failure.
- Keep your focus: 2 or 3 goals are more likely to be achieved than 15 or 20.
Finally, although New Year’s Day is a great time to start a new goal or resolution to quit drinking, any time is a good time to try to make yourself a better person. Don’t let alcohol get in the way of you becoming that better person. Remember, inside of you is a better you – and that better you can’t wait to show the world all the talent, personality and skill you’ve had hidden inside all these years. ♦