I read this on Michael Hyatt's Blog Today...I found it really helpful:
I planned to write a new post on goal-setting today. This is the perfect day for thinking about the year ahead. However, I re-read an article I had written on that topic a couple of years ago on my Working Smart blog. (I recently shut that blog down to focus on this one.) I didn’t think I could improve on what I said there, so I am re-posting it here—with a few minor tweaks. Enjoy!
It’s that time of year again. New Year’s resolutions, diets, exercise—and goal-setting. I continue to be surprised at how few people take time to write down their goals. Despite the fact that numerous studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between goal-setting and success, few people seem to ever get around to it.
I have been setting goals in one form or another for years. Every now and then, I stumble across an old list of goals. I am always fascinated by how many of the things I write down come to pass. And, I must confess, it often happens despite the fact that I do nothing more than write it down. The magic of this is all explained in a very compelling book by Henriette Klauser called Write It Down, Make It Happen.
Even if you don’t create an action plan for each goal and work your plan, there is tremendous power in simply identifying what you want and focusing some thought on the outcome.
For example, at the beginning of 1997, I wrote down this goal: “Write a a New York Times bestselling book.” Now understand: at that time I had never written a book. I had a book idea, but that’s all I had. Though I had worked in the publishing industry my whole career, I was scared to death at the thought of actually trying to write an entire book. Nevertheless, I wrote it down and took a deep breath.
Dean Karnazes