As we start the new year, there is a great amount of optimism that this coming year will be better, much better. There is no doubt that your circumstances will change, maybe substantially.
One survey showed that more people are making resolutions and setting goals for 2025 and 76% say they are taking their resolutions much more seriously this year. Of course, we know well the importance and power of goal setting.
But………………….
Just setting goals or resolutions is not enough. Studies show that less than 10% of people who make resolutions actually succeed. So, what are the most important keys to achieving your 2025 goals?
First is the clarity of your goal. Do you really, really, really, really, really know exactly what you want to achieve? Hazy goals produce hazy results at best. Goals are meant to provide focus. This also means you should only have a few goals. How many things can you really focus on at one time. The more goals you have the less focus you have. I limit myself to one goal in each area of life. That way I know exactly what I am trying to achieve in each area. There is no question because there aren’t any competing goals.
If someone were to ask you what your goal for 2025 is, you should know immediately how to respond. If you must think about it for a second or two, your goal isn’t clear. My favorite quote from Paul J. Meyer, “If you aren’t making the progress you would like to make and are capable of making, it is simply because your goals aren’t clearly defined.”
Focus is all about making a choice. There is a saying, “You can have anything you want in life, but you can’t have everything.” In other words, you can achieve almost anything you want, but you must be willing to not achieve other things. You must choose the success you want. Most people won’t make this choice, so they end up pursuing many things – and achieving none.
Steve Jobs said, “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”
Choosing isn’t just about what you say yes to, it is even more about what you are saying no to. When you make a choice, it can’t just be – This is what I am pursuing. It also must be – This is the only thing I am pursuing right now. Too many people choose a goal, but then they let other goals distract them. Having too many goals is one of the biggest obstacles to great success. Michael Porter said, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”
Remember, focus is a critical factor for success. Orrison Swett Marden, one of the fathers of the personal improvement discipline, said, “Every great man has become great, every successful man has succeeded, in proportion as he has confined his powers to one particular channel.”
Your success will be determined by your focus. Great focus = great success. Put the power of focus to work for you right now. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Second is your goal system. You can’t do a goal. A goal is the end result you are after. It is fairly easy to set a goal. It is much more difficult to achieve a goal. To really achieve an important goal, it is critical to have a system. This is why the form in our programs is called a Goal Planning System. The key component to your system is your daily routine. You can’t keep doing what you’ve always done and expect different results. You must identify the changes you will make in your daily routine to achieve your goal. It is critical to make this change as small and as specific as possible. Changing your routine and habits aren’t easy. John Dryden said, “We fist make our habits, and then our habits make us.”
Identify one small action that you will do consistently every day to reach your goal. The smaller you can make this action, the more likely you will succeed. Once you have identified this key action, schedule it and block the time in your calendar. You must know exactly when and where you will take this action. Don’t let anything else interfere with this “appointment.” This appointment is the key to reaching your 2025 goal. Your daily routine, what you do every day, is the basic building block of your life. You will never achieve your goals until you change your daily routine.
Third is your commitment. You will only achieve goals you are really committed to work for. What does this mean? Commitment is a combination of belief, aspiration, and motivation.
Belief is confidence that you can achieve the goal you have set. This means you have a clear strategy, system and routine set up for your goal and you are 100% confident that you can execute on your strategy. This is why it is important to set realistic goals with realistic routines that you absolutely know you can do. Too often we set huge goals that entail changes we aren’t willing to make.
Aspiration simply means that the goal aligns with your most important values. We will never make difficult changes for goals that don’t support our most cherished values. But for our true values we will go to great lengths. So don’t set goals to sell X number of units or a certain amount of revenue, rather set goals to impact so many lives, to make a difference in a community, to change the world one person and one organization at a time.
Motivation means the goal is personal. It is important to you. It is not someone else’s goal. The best way to know is to ask if you are enthusiastic working towards the goal. Your motivation will be 10-fold for goals you really enjoy working on. This doesn’t mean you enjoy every aspect of working on your goal, there will always be things that aren’t that enjoyable. But the key is to make the process as enjoyable as possible! The more enjoyable you can make the process, the more enthusiastic and motivated you will be. You must learn to love the process!
I sincerely hope this will provide you with the tools to make your 2025 goals a reality. We all have a brand new year to make it whatever we want. Right now, this very minute, is the time to clearly decide specifically what and how you will achieve in 2025.
I wish you the most Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!