DoshDosh at the Make Money Online blog wrote about 8 ways to optimize yourself in your business, in your personal life and in your living space. Essentially, he shares how to optimize yourself.
Since it’s that goal-setting time of year, I’m sharing three ways to keep your business and personal goals realistic and possible.
1. Set Yourself Up for Success
Thank goodness we fail sometimes, because we learn so much. And who wants to leave the world no smarter than when you entered? One reason people fail at keeping their resolutions is that they set too many. Who can remember — yet alone follow — ten resolutions?
ACTION: Set no more than 3 main intentions for the year.
If you can remember your goals, you have a better chance of keeping them. In 2007, I set one intention, which was: “less stuff.” Those two little words guided my de-cluttering and purchases throughout 2007 and became a habit I plan to have long into the next
decade. “Less stuff” guided me to buy less (and save money) and to declutter (and create more space in my home). Since I bought less, I also helped the environment in a small way.
2. Create Specifc Goals
How specific are your goals? Did you say you would lose weight or work out more? What will indicate “enough” in these instances?
ACTION: Create Specific Goals
A few examples of creating specific goals:
1. I will lose 10 lbs by March 3, 2008.
2. I will take 2 pilates classes a week.
Set numerical values to your goals where possible, so you have specific benchmarks. These details will help you remember and stick to your intentions.
3. Write Down Your Intentions
When you write down your intentions, you are more likely to follow through. Have you ever wondered why, when buying a car, the salesman has you sign a form? The form might not even be legally binding, but it gets you committed. This is a sales tactic that’s been used for a long time. Now you can use it to help yourself.
ACTION: Write down your goals and post them where you’ll see them.
Good luck with creating a wonderful 2008 for yourself. Remember to set a realistic number of goals, create specific goals and write them down so you commit to them.
A Tool To Help You Keep Your Goals
With Joe’s goals, you can set up your goals and then give yourself a point when you’ve completed a task or goal. This is good if you like to set up a little friendly competition with yourself.
One of my small goals a few years ago was to drink more water. I set a task reminder in my email task list that prompted me to get up and get water. When I’m working, I do forget at times! However, I’ve now created a habit that I keep more often than not.
Happy new year!
