Word-Of-the-Week #651: Goal
January 26, 2017 by Susan Clarke
Goal – what one intends to accomplish.
Have you even thought about what you’d like to accomplish this year? How successful have you been with accomplishing your goals in the past? Have you ever wasted time with urgent matters that were not really important in the long run?
“READY, SET, GOAL! Banish common habits that can destroy your plans for this year” is another great New Year article. Gordon Tredgold says, “As a business coach, I find that the start of the year is always a great time because clients are full of optimism and ready to set bold new goals or create inspiring visions for their futures.
And while I love to help them set these goals, it’s worth noting that just 8 percent of people achieve their New Year’s goals, according to University of Scranton research. That is deflating.
The majority of people fail for the same reasons, and they repeat these mistakes year after year.
Here are three things that you need to give up if you want to make this year different and be one of the few who achieve their goals.
- Making excuses
There might be reasons why you are not doing as well as you should, but there are definitely no excuses. When we start to make excuses, then we are giving ourselves outs, options to quit or are telling ourselves stories that make failure seem acceptable. Do not accept any excuses.
“If you really want to do it, you do it. There are no excuses.” — Bruce Nauman
- Waiting for someone else to help
If you wait for someone to pop up and help you achieve your goals, then you have already decided to quit.
No one is going to have as much passion or desire to achieve your goals than you do. Someone might become inspired and help you over the finishing line, but it’s at the start that you need to have the self-motivation to get up and get the ball rolling.
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”— Abraham Lincoln
- Embracing things that are urgent but not important
We live in a world where we are inundated with status updates, phone calls, offers and opportunities — many of which seem urgent and that need to be dealt with right now. But every minute you focus on things that seem urgent and don’t help you achieve your goals is potentially a minute wasted.
We need to differentiate between being busy and being productive.
“Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.” — Socrates
This week’s focus is on goals. What do you intend to accomplish this year? What are the steps needed to achieve that? Do you have the self-motivation to get up and get the ball rolling?
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