It's that time of the year again when we sit down with a pen and paper and write down all those goals that we wish to accomplish in the New year. But this isn't the first time we have done this is it? New Years is known to have people year after year set goals and 3 weeks down you see them break the same.
Why does this happen?
Why is it that we rush into the New Year with motivation and enthusiasm to achieve all these goals but see the same motivation crash within a few weeks? The answer is simple, the goals were not set with a vision of realistic tangibility. This New Year we are gifting you the secret sauce to increasing the probability of your achieving your most important goals. Our experience in working with people and organizations around the world suggests that the best way to achieve your goals is to use a simple formula: From X to Y by When.
Let's take an example that nearly every individual sets or has set at some point in their lives and that is the goal of losing weight. The common mistake that is made when setting this goal is that the emphasis is laid on the actionable first. That is first focus is in setting goals like, I will work out for an hour every day, i will stop having sweets, i will stop all junk foods and so many more. The problem with these goals is that they are screaming alerts of falling of the band wagon and giving up on your end goal of losing weight. The reason being when you put these actionable down as your goals the focus shifts from losing weight being your goal to fulfilling the actionable being your goals. They make you hard on yourself and skipping them brings a sense of demotivation and you give up.
To set a goal of losing weight and to make it realistic and achievable start using the formula.You want to put this formula into action by first defining how much weight it is that you want to lose. Let's say for example it is 10 kilograms.The next thing is to define the realistic time frame you are looking at achieving this goal. Let's say for example it is 6 months. Now go ahead and insert this data into the formula which will now make your goal look like "Reduce my weight from 65 kilograms to 55 kilograms by June 30th 2018”.
Once you have the goal envisioned you now can state the actions that will be required to achieve this goal, which could be exercise, or diet control. Now when you skip a workout or eat a slice of cake you won’t beat yourself on not living up to your goal. Setting your goals with this formula, gives structure to your goals by making them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound.