Goal Setting in August?!

Most people set their goals for the year in January.  Did you start the year off writing down your goals? If you did, have you read them lately? Or have you forgotten where you stashed the piece of paper you wrote them on? It's now August, so is it still worth it to write or re-write the goals? I guess it depends on whether the goals are worth achieving and how badly you want them!

I must confess that I wrote some goals down at the beginning of the year and I started the year off really strong and focused on my goals. As usually happens, things don't always go according to plan and it becomes easier to drift away from the goals you had set and just "let things happen as they may happen". I decided that I needed to come up with a master game plan and re-write my goals!

Why? Let me tell you why...My life today looks completely different than it did 5 years ago.  It's not because I have more money or a bigger house, or a fancier job.  It's because I made a choice to make changes that set me on the course of doing the things that are based on passion, joy, and dreams.  That's right. I learned to dream again!  The truth is that if you have big dreams and you want them to come true, then you need to set goals. And to achieve goals you need to have a plan. And then, you need to work the plan!  I discovered that I wasn't always "working" on the things that would fulfill my dreams because I didn't really have a plan!

Did you know that it's statistically proven that goals that are written down are 80% more likely to actually be achieved?

There are many different theories and approaches to writing goals. You've probably learned that they should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely.  I've learned from some mentors to add a few other elements to make them "meaningful" to me.

Here's my formula for how I'm writing my "Master Game Plan" of goals. It's a collaboration of different goal setting techniques I've seen over the years.

• Goal...What I Want specifically
• Why I Want it
• Action Steps & Timeframe (include a date)
• Time Commitment Required
• Possible Barriers
• Affirmations 

The last one, affirmations, is a new approach I'm creating to respond to the potential barriers. For example: "I am persistent, when others would have quit." The idea is that it keeps me "grounded" in what I believe and know is "possible" when the obstacles are presented that cause a goal to feel "impossible".

There is still a lot of opportunity to make a lot of amazing things happen in 2013! Don't write the year off! After all, who says goals have to span a calendar year?! Join me in writing or rewriting you goals and let's get to work!

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty. ~Proverbs 21:5

Love and Prayers,
Sondra