It’s the beginning of a new year. Right now, so many people are making plans and setting goals for the year. I have also set some goals for the year – to read a certain number of books, exercise more and lose some weight. While planning on this scale is nice, it is useless if it does not translate into daily habits. Unfortunately, many people only set these goals and do not form the habits to achieve the goals. Then they come to the end of the year surprised they have not achieved anything. So how do we make sure we don’t fall into this same trap?
Now we all know what SMART objectives are – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. Nevertheless, we need to emphasise some points again. So if I set a goal to become the world footballer of the year, I am totally being unreasonable and unrealistic. It is not that i am in such a bad shsoe but it’s just that I can’t achieve such a goal with the current resources and skills that I have. This is the same way a number of people set their goals and this is also one of the major reasons why so many people miss their objectives for the year. Your goals should match your skills, your resources and other aspirations you have. There is a coming saying that we overestimate what we can achieve in a year but underestimate what we can achieve in five years. Make sure your goals are SMART.
Going back to the key point, your efforts to attain your goals will fail if the goals are not translated to daily habits. So after you have set the goals for yourself, you need to break it down into smaller goals and daily habits which will progressively lead you to the your main goals. If I set the goal to have lost a certain weight by the end of the year, I need to translate this into daily routine that will support the achievement of that goal. However, if I choose a contrary routine, I run the risk of not achieving my goal for the year.
Remember, plans mean nothing unless they are translated into action. As you are planning to have a great year, remember to set daily habits that will lead you to success. I wish you a great year!
