Goal Setting Means Getting out the Piece of Paper

It doesn’t have to be New Year’s Eve to finally decide you want to set some goals. In fact, each day we set goals for ourselves. Whether they are small goals, like to meet for lunch with Sally, or large goals like deciding to lose 15 pounds in the next three months. The problem with our goals is that about 95% of people who set them fail to achieve them. Now it’s time to explain why.

What people don’t realize about goals is that you have to do more than just think them. First thing you should do, is write them down. Don’t write them on a piece of paper you won’t see 3 days from now, write them somewhere you will see each and every day.

Next, you need to decide what steps are going to help you achieve your goals. For example, if you want to find a new job, you may have to start by creating a new resume. Next, you might want to start searching online for job postings. And third, you may want to take a day to walk around to companies you are interested in and drop off your resumes. Writing out clear steps helps you picture the process to success. Also, it allows you to track where you are in your goal, so while you see progress, you can start to reward yourself.

It is important to have a visual map laid out in front of you. Where people fail at goal setting is that they don’t put everything on paper. That means tracking what goes right and even what goes wrong. For me, I do this with a success journal. I start by writing down my goals and what I need to do to accomplish them. Each night, I reflect on what I did that moved me forward (or what I didn’t – it’s okay to recognize a set back as long as I carry on). From there, I do an overall weekly reflection and a monthly one. I ask myself key questions that allow me to truly analyze how I have made progress. The truth is, without my success journal, I’d get lost in the commotion of my daily life, and my goals would just become another dream I never seemed to accomplish.

It doesn’t matter if your goal is big or small – they key to success is writing your goals down and making reflections. When you start to see progress with you efforts, it’s most important that you reward yourself for all of your efforts. And, if you find it hard keeping yourself on track, go ahead and grab yourself a success journal – they’re completely worth it.

Gary Gzik is a Corporate Trainer and CEO of the business consulting company BizXcel, Inc. which owns and operates Getting to Someday, a place where people go to achieve their goals and dreams. Gary also wrote “A Simple Approach to Getting Motivated”, a book that inspires people to achieve their dreams through motivation and SMART goals – claim your free copy today at http://gettingtosomeday.com/goal-setting-secret.

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