78% of people will not achieve their New Years Resolutions

January is a great time to plan the year ahead, and set yourself goals. This is why so many people set New Years Resolutions … but how many actually stick to them & achieve the desired results? Not many if we believe the research. Why?

The 8 top reasons people don’t reach their desired goals are:

- They do not align with their purpose in life
- They lack the necessary desire/passion
- They do not believe they are capable of or worthy of achieving their goals
- They have set goals to please someone else
- The goals aren’t consistent with their values
- They don’t have a system or person to hold them accountable
- They don’t have the methodology to achieve them
- They have not acquired the relevant success habits – they lack focused action

So, review your 2011 and pick an aspect which is related to financial, health, relationships or business, which you really would like to have achieved.  Now write down 5 positive effects that achieving this goal will have on your life.

NB: Remember the WHY? Make sure you are setting this goal for YOURSELF and not to primarily please someone else.

Then follow the 5 rules for effective goal attainment:

1. Written. Writing your goals down helps to crystallise them and ensures greater commitment. It helps your subconscious mind get a firm hold on exactly what it is you want and why
2. Specific. How will you know when you are there? For example, a goal of achieving financial independence in the future is too vague. If it is a goal of “achieving a net worth of £5M within the next 5 years and the target for this year is £1M” – that is specific.
3. Challenging. Your goal should be a “stretch” – something which you believe, with effort, you can achieve and which would give you a real sense of accomplishment.
4. Measurable. Where possible, quantify your goals – set deadlines for their completion. The more measurable your goals are, the more manageable they will become. Measure your progress weekly.
5. Prioritised. By prioritising your goals, it becomes easy to then prioritise your daily tasks. Prioritising should be in terms of importance (ie. value-based) rather than urgency (ie. time-based)

The last point is to work on YOU – every day. Develop success habits around the key activities that engage your strengths. Practice simple disciplines daily.

2012 can be your best year yet, as long as you set goals that meet these criteria … so what’s stopping you?