New Year, new plans part deux

Making Good New Year's Resolutions


Then there are some goal-setting strategies that may help. I got this list of tips off a website called mygoals.com.



1. Create a Plan

David Allen, author of Getting Things Done and Making it All Work, says you have to get the day-to-day things working, or you’ll never see past the piles of stuff to do on your desk and to your loftier goals. (That’s the gist of GTD.) But to put it in reverse (this part is from MIAW): purpose/principles, vision, goals, projects, next actions. If one of these parts is missing, you may lose the whole thread. Your new year’s resolution could be as grand as sorting all that out and finally pursuing your vision, or it may be that you’re well underway living your vision AND goals, and just need to set out this year’s projects.


2. Create Your Plan IMMEDIATELY

New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. ~Mark Twain

Twain might have been overly cynical, but you probably get the point. Putting off starting a goal at any time is a recipe for never getting anywhere with it.


3. Write Down Your Resolution and Plan

Writing things down seems to help our brains look on the goals as more of a commitment if we write them down. It’s also useful to schedule the steps for your goals into your calendar if that’s appropriate (setting aside time to exercise, for example).


4. Think "Year Round," Not Just New Year's

New Year's resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. Think of them as an outline for your year.


And finally...


5. Remain Flexible

Expect that your plan can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, and flexibility is required to complete anything but the simplest goal. Sometimes the goal itself will even change. In fact, there’s a good chance that if it does, you’ll most likely recognize that at some step, you misidentified something in your big picture: maybe your vision isn’t to bring the world a better mousetrap, maybe it’s to rid the world of mice.

But also recognize the progress you do make—sometimes we underestimate how long something will take. Going slowly isn’t a failure unless you’re trying to beat everyone else—if your goal is to finish the race, then you can work on your timing next year.

Another tip for visualization success: when you picture where you want to be a year from now -- or ever, as we start talking about vision and purpose in the big picture -- don't just imagine the visual. Imagine the emotion. The visual isn't nearly as important. If your purpose is to, for example, bring healing to the world, don't just focus on how you'll look in nurses' scrubs or a white lab coat. Imagine how it will feel to change a life.

As you may have guessed by now, although my goal with this blog is to help you find and fulfill your passion, we'll spend a fair amount of energy also talking about the day-to-day stuff. Those down-and-dirty details are what will help you realize your vision.