Time to set your new year goals?

Today is 2nd January, many people are enjoying the last day off before going back to work on Monday 5th.

So just maybe this is the perfect time to think about how you are going to make your life better in 2009. (Just possibly with all the financial turmoil it may be that you are simply hoping to survive!)

Many of us will have had the experience of setting new year resolutions and then failing to achieve any of them.

So this year what about trying things a different way?

Take this time to set yourself some SMART goals. SMART is simply a way to define what you want to happen:

S = Specific. Make the goal specific, when will it happen, where, on your own or with others?
M = Measurable. How will you measure it? How many pounds off, how much money saved?
A = Achievable. Is it really possible to do this? Have other people done it?
R = Realistic. Given all the circumstances is the goal reasonable? Losing 50lbs in 2 weeks is impossible, doing the same over 50 weeks is very realistic.
T = Timely or time bound. When will this happen, what time markers will you set along the way?

By using the SMART model you are much more likely to achieve the goals that you set.

So what about an example; perhaps you have put on some weight over the holiday period and exercise has become something that happens very infrequently. You'd like things to be better but another diet just seems so dull; procrastination has set.

So lets try the SMART approach:
Specific
How much weight do you want to shed? How many pounds or kilos is right for you?
Be SPECIFIC. How many inches would you like to lose from your waist measurement? Be SPECIFIC.

Measurable
Some things are easy to measure, weight and size are simple to check. Other things are more difficult; how do you measure confidence or presentation skills. Find suitable ways to measure what you achieve against the goals that you set.

Achievable
Impossible to achieve goals result only in frustration and failure. Is what you want physically achievable? Has someone else done it before you? Are you attempting to alter the laws of physics to make that goal happen?

Realistic
How realistic is that you get a job next week that will double your pay? How realistic is it to achieve all your goals in one month? Most goals are a sequence of smaller steps that are easy to take on their own, but that add up to a huge change in your life. Make each step realistic to avoid the frustration of failure.

Timebound
This is just another way of saying, when will this happen? It's useful to set up a number of markers in time so that you know you are on track to achieving your ultimate goal. For example in the first month I will shed 8pounds of unwanted weight and lose 1 inch from my waist size.
Your ultimate goal might be that by June 17th 2009 I will have shed 25pounds and dropped 4 inches from my waist.


Making your New Year resolutions SMART will make it much easier for you to achieve your goals.

If you're ready for this but still feel in need of some help to deal with that procrastination then my hypnosis MP3 recording 'Beat Procrastination' is just the thing to break through that log jam of exscuses and get 2009 off to a flying start.

Happy New Year!