We’re just around the corner from a new year, and at that, a new decade. January 1st is the day everyone likes to make big ambitious goals, they like to write out or just dream of all of the amazing things they’ll do in the new year. Often, people just leave their resolutions there or maybe they follow through on them for a week or two.
For most people the dreaming isn’t the difficult part of resolutions, it’s the follow through, it’s the taking action, it’s the attempt to get a little closer to your destination - that’s the hard part.
From one dreamer to another, allow me to share the things that help me work towards my goals & continue to work on them throughout the year.
For most people the dreaming isn’t the difficult part of resolutions, it’s the follow through, it’s the taking action, it’s the attempt to get a little closer to your destination - that’s the hard part.
From one dreamer to another, allow me to share the things that help me work towards my goals & continue to work on them throughout the year.
#1 - Write, with actual pen & paper, what it is you want to achieve
Get specific. List the big goals. Write it as though it is already true. For example, rather than writing “I want to lose weight” write “I am Active & have a healthy diet.” This way every time you read that goal, you read it as though it is already true. You want your mind to know that your dream is real and not a figment of your imagination.
#2 - Get Realistic with Actions
Beneath that goal list out ANYTHING you can think of that you’ll need to do to reach your dream. What are the actions you’ll need to take?
For example, sticking with our “being active” goal, you would write things like: eat veggies with every meal, drink water throughout the day, stretch during my lunch break, go to the gym 4 days a week, take a walk with my family, pick a piece of fruit over candy, etc. These are all concrete steps you can take. From here, pull out your calendar & bein scheduling in some of those actions.
For example, sticking with our “being active” goal, you would write things like: eat veggies with every meal, drink water throughout the day, stretch during my lunch break, go to the gym 4 days a week, take a walk with my family, pick a piece of fruit over candy, etc. These are all concrete steps you can take. From here, pull out your calendar & bein scheduling in some of those actions.
#3 - Pick Your Boulder
You’ve listed out lots of different goals, you’ve determined the steps you’ll need to take to make your dream a reality, but now which one do you focus on? Of course, you can work on improving yourself in multiple areas of your life, but I’ve found the most success when I pick one main goal to be my boulder, allow me to explain.
Imagine you’re standing in front of a small pond. You pick up a handful of pebbles & toss them into the pond, you notice the water ripples & then goes back to stillness. But what if you picked up a boulder and tossed into the pond? Well, the water level would rise, a pretty big wave would move through the pond & the pond would never be the same. The entire water level of the pond would be changed, unless you swim in there and try to get that boulder out, you’ve forever elevated the pond.
In this scenario, the pond represents your life and the rocks are your goals. If you have lots of little goals you’re only going to create a small ripple of change in your life, whereas if you go all in on one main goal, your boulder, and you toss that into the pond you not only create ripples of change but you elevate your life by raising the water level.
Imagine you’re standing in front of a small pond. You pick up a handful of pebbles & toss them into the pond, you notice the water ripples & then goes back to stillness. But what if you picked up a boulder and tossed into the pond? Well, the water level would rise, a pretty big wave would move through the pond & the pond would never be the same. The entire water level of the pond would be changed, unless you swim in there and try to get that boulder out, you’ve forever elevated the pond.
In this scenario, the pond represents your life and the rocks are your goals. If you have lots of little goals you’re only going to create a small ripple of change in your life, whereas if you go all in on one main goal, your boulder, and you toss that into the pond you not only create ripples of change but you elevate your life by raising the water level.