Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021 (Part 1)

It is that time of year again. We have put another year in our rearview mirror and what a crazy year it was. Whether 2020 was a good year for you or a bad year for you there is no going backwards. You can not change or relive the past. The key to having a successful 2021 will be moving forward at lightspeed into 2021. Have you determined what you want out of 2021? Have you put the plan in place to make it happen? Do you have the tools and the mindset to ensure that you are on the right path to get there?

Every January 1^st millions of people make a New Year’s resolution. Studies show that only 8% of those people keep that resolution for the entire year, pretty scary huh? Studies also show that 80% of the people who make a New Year’s resolution give up on it before February 1^st. Now that is definitely scary, 80% of people can not stick with their dreams, goals, or resolutions for one month.

So why is it that most Dreams, Goals and Resolutions fail?

The biggest reason is most people know what they want but they don’t know WHY they want it. The WHY behind your dreams, goals and resolutions is your motivation to accomplish them. The stronger your WHY the greater your chance for success. The next time you find yourself setting a goal, ask yourself the following questions:

• “Why do I want this?”
• “How badly do I want this?”
• “What am I willing to do to get it?”

Now that you have your Why let’s look at how to create SMART Goals:

Specific

A goal that is specific has a much greater chance of success. The more specific the better. To set a specific goal use the following questions:

• Who: Who is involved?
• What: What is it that you want to accomplish?
• Where: Identify the best location to accomplish this goal.
• When: Establish a deadline. (DIT Tip: A goal without a deadline is just a dream)
• Why: Specific reasons, purpose, or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
• How: Identify the steps needed in order to guarantee success.

Example:

A general goal: Sell More

A SPECIFIC Goal:

• Who: Me
• What: Sell More 2 More cars per Month Rolling Forward
• Where: At Work
• When: Start Now – On Going
• Why: Earn Enough Money to do Special Things with my Family (Such as go to: Disneyland)
• How: Use the DO IT TODAY Learning Network every day (including my days off) to learn and practice new skills that will help me sell more. I will practice each skill until I cannot get it wrong ensuring that I have the tools to sell at least 2 more cars than the previous month.

Measurable

A goal must have concrete criteria for measuring the progress towards achieving it. When you measure your progress, you will:

• Stay on Track (More often than not, exceed target)
• Reach Target Dates (More often than not, achieve goal early)
• Experience the Exhilaration of Achievement

Attainable

Identifying goals that are important to you, have a strong WHY, you begin to determine how you will make them happen. You will develop the right ATTITUDE, Skill Sets, and Motivation to reach them. You will begin to realize previously missed opportunities and learn from those mistakes. You may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with attainable? Don’t worry I am getting there.

Most people when they set a goal, they actually end up setting it lower than they really want or than they can achieve to make the goal easier to hit. This is a huge mistake. When you set a goal lower than what you are capable of, you actually cause yourself to under achieve and you will probably come up short of even that short goal.

Attainable does not mean easily achieved or realistic. If you set the goal just out of reach, then put together the plan to EXCEED it, and most importantly put in the work to CRUSH it, you will soon realize that you are not setting your targets and goals high enough.

When you set slightly out of reach goals you begin to build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals and develop the personality and traits that you need to achieve them.

Realistic

As with attainable, realistic does not mean easy to achieve. Realistic means that the plan you have in place must be capable of being accomplished. For example, you cannot base a goal on you working 24 hours a day, 7 days week. This is not humanly possible. The realistic aspect of your goal should be about the effort that you can put in to accomplish your goal. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be based upon the effort you are willing to put in. A high goal will also create the proper motivation for success because goals that are too low do not provide the motivation to be successful. Some of the highest goals are the easiest to achieve because of they are a labor of love and passion for accomplishment!

In order for your goal to be realistic you must believe that it can be accomplished with the effort that you have committed yourself to. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to ask:

• Have I accomplished something similar in the past?
• What external conditions must be meet for this to happen?

Timely

A goal should have a designated time frame. This includes a firm start date and a completion date. Without a timeframe there is no sense of urgency. If you want to increase your average sales to 25 cars per month, however you only want to achieve this “someday” you will never have the motivation needed to actually achieve your goal. By setting a deadline, you anchor your goal within a timeframe and set your unconscious mind into motion and starts you on your way to achieving your goal.

It was said earlier that a goal without a deadline is dream, which is true, however there is one exception a “lifestyle change.” A lifestyle change is a habit that you are committing to as a permanent change. These can be some of the most difficult goals to achieve as they require a lifelong commitment. They require the strongest of WHYS and the most constant of measuring.

To Be Continued…

Wow! This article got long in a hurry and I still have a lot to share with you about this very important topic. So, I will be wrapping things up here and I will continue with the stages of this article, Thought Starters for Goal Setting and a Personal Development Plan, next week.