Goal setting. Anyone got energy for thinking about this right now?! When it comes to goal setting, don't wait for Jan. And don’t fixate that January is the only relevant time of year for resolution. Around 90% of New Year resolutions have been left behind by the end of January. Probably we can attribute this to the hype and the pressure of the season.
There’s often a slump in energy at the start of the year. Despite the gleaming and fresh-paged diary or calendar, we can come back into work in early Jan exhausted - too much time with family, the chaos of travel in the busy (wintry) months, the expense…All of this means we can put goals or intentions in place without thinking them through.
Whatever the time of year, if you already know there's something you want to either change - or create - in your life, why wait? As we pivot on the turning of the year, we might place expectations on ourselves that the goals have got to be big, life-changing, over-hauling resolutions.
Avoid setting sabotaging goals that are that are never going to happen. If we set goals that are so unattainable then how on earth are we supposed to stay motivated?! More manageable goals are realistic and, when we achieve them, we feel so much better.
So, focus on the micro - goals for the day, this week, this month. This is particularly important as we try to keep things going. What everyday goals will make work and life sustainable for me? What goals might be more achievable right now? Understanding the underlying motive is also key. Are you setting this goal for yourself or are you doing this for someone else? We need to be kind. Ask: am I doing this as an act of love or is this an act of self-rejection? The emotions that drive goals have a strong impact on whether we actually achieve them. Working out our motivation and values around resolution helps us define the types of goal we choose to set.
If the goals come out of fear, guilt, shame or anger you're far less likely to achieve them than if you set them from a place of hope, peace, excitement or love. It's the difference between moving towards something positive or moving away from something negative. And when we have ‘away’ goals, where we’re distancing ourselves, then it's much harder to be consistent and to get the results we want.
Far too many resolutions revolve around achievement; about getting rather than being? It could be that it’s more of an emotional goal we need. Let’s ask ourselves, how do I want to feel in the next three months or six months? Only then can we work out what activities or ‘life nudges’ are going to produce that emotional impact.
What positive commitments-to-self will you make…and when? No pressure.
