How Are Your 2010 Goals Going?

Your Goals At 3 Months

OK.  You’ve set out your goals over 3 months ago.  Hopefully, you’ve been reviewing them at least weekly.  I also hope you’ve rewarded yourself for those you’ve accomplished to date.

My question is: how is it going?  Have you found yourself week in, week out staring at the same list?  Does it seem like you’re never going to achieve them?  Have you taken any time to stop and ask yourself why you’re not achieving them?

I’ve found myself in this situation this year.  I took great pains to look at what I wanted to do with my personal and business lives and constructed a set of goals for each that fulfill meaningful purposes in each area as well as mesh together nicely with each other.  After all, you’re not a son, father, mother,wife,husband, friend etc. on an island.  You’re a human being that has goals for at least your personal and business lives.  You’ve got to find a way to make these aspects of your life coexist meaningfully.

So, why do I find these goals that still have no progress towards them?  My simple answer is: you’ve made way too many of them at once.

Did I Hear You Correctly?

Yes, you did.  No matter how careful we try to be to envision our years at the beginning of them, it’s too easy to load ourselves down with so much stuff we don’t know where to start.  We may pick a starting point but we’re never sure it’s really the most important area for us to begin with.  Let me suggest the following goal audit.

Lighten Your Load

Go back to your list of goals and start with those areas you haven’t even begun to tackle yet.  Ask yourself if you really think you’re going to accomplish that this year.  If you do, then keep it on your list.  If you have any doubts, strike it from this year and keep it in a file for next year’s goals.  You can always look at them again when you begin next year’s goal setting.

Isn’t That A Bit Arbitrary?

Not at all.  The one thing none of us can make any more of is time.  I’m just trying to keep you from wasting time either reviewing a huge list of goals you’re not going to accomplish or by trying to decide what to do about goals you haven’t accomplished yet.  I firmly believe that 3 months time is more than enough for you to decide on a course of action as far as goals are concerned.

So, go back to your goals and see if you can’t eliminate some obvious stumbling blocks.  It will help your attitude  because you won’t feel like you’re kicking yourself for not starting a goal and the leaner list will allow you to focus better on what’s REALLY important to you.