2015 is right around the corner. Come next month we’ll be 14 years into the 21st century.
So what have you decided to create in 2015?
This is an important question because each new year presents a clean slate on which we can build the beginnings of a new future.
This is what makes the coming of new year so exciting.
Yet, so many of us fail to adequately plan and create a vision for the new year. For those of us who do, the majority of us fail to execute on the plans we put in place.
Why?
Well, humans beings don’t like change and we definitely don’t like uncertainty.
As a result, there is an enemy within each of us, that will do whatever it can to impede any change; even if that change represents progress.
According to the University of Scranton only 8% of people are successful in achieving their resolutions. However, they do notate that people who explicitly make resolutions are ten times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.
To assist you in the task of explicitly making and keeping your resolutions to create a very powerful 2015, I have outlined five ways you can achieve your goals in the coming new year.
1. Clearly Define What Success Is For 2015:
Most of us work a 9-5, or some iteration of that, everyday. At our jobs, either we set our own goals, or a leader sets the goals. Either way, we typically receive some type of indicator for what success will look like for the year.
When it comes to creating personal goals, that are based on our own dreams, goals and aspirations, we often skip the vital step of creating a measure for success.
Why do we do this?
Well, most of us hate to fail.
For the most part we are forced to set professional goals in the work place. Whether we like the goals does not matter. We will work sun up to sun down to meet the expectations of those goals because we associate that success with survival.
In the meantime, we avoid gaining clarity on our dreams and the personal goals that really matter to us. Thus, there is no accountability for what we intend for our dream and how we plan to measure that intention.
As we head into 2015, define your success by creating clear objectives and measurements by which to hold yourself accountable…just like you do at work!
2. Set Up Intentional Accountability:
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur in the mind. Intentional dreaming can be the source of amazing ideas for our lives that translate into personal aspirations and goals. Dreaming can also be just another form of wishful thinking. The only way you can make an idea that you dream about real is to get it our of your head, and make it tangible.
You make the dream tangible when you write it down as a goal AND you tell other people. Dr. Martin Luther King is a great example of what it means to create accountability for a dream. In his “I have a dream” speech, he shared his intimate thoughts, emotions and ideas about the possibilities of racial equality to the nation. This created instant accountability for him to act on that dream as a goal.
That dream you have for 2015…is it written down yet, and who else knows about it?
First write it down, and then tell at least three people you who will encourage you to go after the dream, constantly remind you about your original intention when you get scared, and hold you accountable to your greatness and ability to fulfill on that dream, goal or resolution.
“Accountability breeds response-ability.” ~ Stephen Covey
3. Set Milestones and Action Plans:
Now that your resolution is on paper it’s time to get clear on what you will need to do to make the desired outcome a reality. This exercise can be tough, because it’s very easy to get stuck trying to figure out HOW you will make your resolution a reality. The loftier your goal and desired outcome is, the greater the resistance, the greater the fear.
Remember that fear freezes us.
This is where having a coach can really come in handy.
While there is no substitute for a really good certified, ontological coach, if you don’t have a coach or can’t afford a coach, then this is where your accountability partners can really help.
If you get stuck with HOW you will make your resolution or goal a reality, consider that you’re complicating the plan because you’re afraid, and reach out for help!
When you’re setting the milestones and action plans for your resolution keep your mind focused on the desired outcome and the experience that outcome will create in your life. Try creating your milestones from the future and keep the action plans simple.
For example, if you’re dream is to give a Ted Talk presentation, a milestone from the future would be where and when you deliver that first talk. Every month or two between that future date and now, should have another major milestone.
After the milestones are set focus only on the action plans to make the current milestone a reality.
4. Identify What You Will Stop:
Most of us have busy lives and for the most part our free time is already filled with things we typically enjoy doing. Consider that if you create three resolutions for the new year, that these three wonderful aspirations will be the first things you abandon WHEN you get busy.
As an adult human being, you already have your instinctive habits and your new resolutions will be under direct fire when the going gets tough, if you don’t plan for this reality right now.
For every resolution or goal that you plan to take on in the new year, what will you stop doing?
Be honest with yourself when you answer this question. If one of your resolutions is to go to the gym for an hour 3 times a week, then what are you going to stop doing that will provide you three additional hours in bandwidth.
Hint: The best place to find valuable time to replace is in your television and/or entertainment consumption.
5. Create Daily Affirmations That Include Your Resolutions:
The easiest way to abandon your new year’s resolutions is to just simply forget that you created them. Many of our aspirations go unfinished not because they were extremely difficult and complicated, but because they were not top of mind.
Creating daily affirmations that include your new year’s resolutions will not only assist in keeping them top of mind, but they will also keep you motivated and inspired towards the achievement of your goal.
First, let’s get very clear about what an affirmation is. An affirmation is a carefully formatted statement that should be repeated or written frequently. For an affirmation to be effective, it should be present tense, positive, personal and specific.
In this post, I shared two fictional resolutions as examples.
- To deliver a Ted Talk presentation in 2015.
- To go to the gym at least 3 times a week.
Below I have provided affirmation statements that one should repeat at least twice a day (morning and evening) if these were their resolutions:
- I am happy and grateful that I delivered a compelling Ted Talk that has received outstanding accolades and reviews.
- I am happy and grateful that I have created a strong, and healthy body that reflects the greatness of my inner being through my external physique.
Taking the time to create affirmations for each of your resolutions is one of the major components of ensuring you attain your goals.
Now let’s get real; setting audacious goals for our lives is not easy work. However, if we want to achieve our own personal greatness and live the best life possible, there is work that must be done.
“No pain, no gain!”, isn’t just a cliché phrase that applies to sports and exercise.
2015 is right around the corner. Come next month we’ll be 14 years into the 21st century.
100 years from now how will we remember you in 2015?
“Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” ~ Les Brown
If you’re willing to do the work, I’m certain these 5 tips will give you a head start towards your definition of success.
In 2015, be sure to subscribe and check out more post on this website and stay inspired, it’s a lifestyle choice!
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