You had the best of intentions. You heard the ‘New Year- New Me’ mantra that’s repeated every year directly following the holiday indulgences. That healthy new diet, the renewed commitment to a fitness routine, the self-improvement focus we pledge to diligently pursue and more. You bought in, yet all to quickly it fell to the wayside, despite sincerest intentions to succeed. You are not alone. For many, sooner than later, the vision/plan is a distant memory and old habits are resurrected. 

Don’t’ fret, you can get back on track with a few steps to success. How we choose our goals and set about to achieve them often determines whether we succeed or fail. Our thoughts determine our actions, and this is a very important step that is often overlooked.

• Choose goals you believe to be realistic. Lofty aspirations, if not met, can have the opposite effect by causing you to feel like a failure. Be sensible by considering your time, experience and resources. Setting ambitious but practical objectives is a big step in the right direction.
• Write them down. Seeing your goals on paper can feel both exciting and intimidating. “What do I do next- how do I get there? Measurable progress takes time. Taking steps day in and day out to get to where you want requires patience and perseverance. To quote Vincent Van Gogh, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” It is these smaller daily, weekly and monthly actions and behaviors that will determine your results by year end.
• Create bite-sized milestones. Annual goals in written form broken down into daily, weekly and monthly benchmarks can be helpful. Focusing on smaller, daily objectives can allow you to adjust and adapt as needed and as often as necessary to stay focused and on track. By making checkpoints and logging what is actually occurring, versus what was intended, you can track your progress and compare reality to expectations. This method provides direction, and incentive to remain on course.

The old saying still rings true, that “If you fail to plan then you are planning to fail.” By setting annual goals, visualizing their completion, charting a path on paper, breaking it down into daily tasks, and monitoring progress, you just may be able to create, develop and implement a personalized plan for success. 

About the Author – Madison DeCamillis