For most average people, it is right around this flip of the calendar page, when New Year’s Resolutions are already a distant memory. Just for fun, I googled the definition of New Year’s Resolution: a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year. It is an American tradition to quickly ramble off a list of things like “I am going to work out more, eat less sugar, spend more time with family, get organized…” Does that list look familiar? It is almost expected that our New Year’s Resolutions will be quickly forgotten and become nothing but a stab of guilt in our side, yet another failure chalked up on our life’s scoreboard…
Maybe, that is precisely what they are designed to be! A check list of exactly what we do not want in our life. Making resolutions is a place to start in our evaluation of our life. We can only begin to know what we DO want, once we know what we DON’T want! Resolutions should be a beginning to an evaluation of the past and a leap board to setting goals for the future.
How big of a game do you want to play? Do you really want to fulfill the dreams God has placed in your heart? Not the dreams and goals you fantasize about or occasionally think about every now and then or just simply hope for. But these are dreams and goals that will create passion in your life, that move you into daily, monthly and yearly Action. Dreams and goals that bring emotion because of the clear sacrifices that have been made preceding long aspired victories. Yes, dreams and goals create miracles and accomplishment. And equally important, dreams and goals can create balance, priorities and life-enhancement.
There was a well-known study of the Harvard University class of '53. In this study, the researchers revealed that only 10 percent of the students had established any goals at all, and that only three percent of the men and women in that class had written their goals down on paper. Twenty years later, the researchers again interviewed those very same former class members. They were involved in their careers and had families now. The three percent who two decades earlier had written down their goals were now worth more in economic terms than the entire remaining 97 percent of the class combined! Of course financial success isn't everything, but this study clearly shows the results of writing down your goals.
I would like to share a few simple steps to get you on track to living the life of your dreams. Today, take some time to REALLY reflect about your dreams. How do you see yourself 1 year from now, 3 years, 5 years & even 10 years. Look at all areas of your life – spiritual, emotional, physical, social, financial, intellectual. Write down some of your past successes. This will help you realize that God has designed you already equipped with everything you need to be successful at anything you desire. Seriously reflect on those goals & dreams that God has designed truly unique to you. Make a list of 50 items you would like to accomplish in the next 10 years. Write down everything from organizing your closet, to starting your own business, to writing a book, to owning your own private jet!
Now pick the top 3 to 4 realistic goals that you know are attainable this year. Make sure this realistic goal is very specific and is measureable. Example – not “I want to lose weight” but “I want to lose 10 pounds by June 1, I will eat more healthy foods and exercise every day.” Not “I want to make more money” but “I want a $10,000 a year raise by June 1 – I will add value to my company by coming in earlier every day.”
A very important and frequently over looked component to taking the action necessary to achieving success is the accountability factor! Share your goal with a positive, successful person you trust to encourage you. When someone knows what your goals are, they help hold you accountable. Being accountable to your committed, disciplined, and sustained action is the final ingredient in the miracle process of materializing any achievement you can conceive.
Visualize yourself as if you have already have achieved your dream life. Contemplate the price you will pay for not achieving your goals and dreams. It is also important to acknowledge and celebrate the small achievements along the way in reaching your big goals. Strive for a balanced mind, body & soul. Make the promise to yourself to design your best year ever! No matter how last year was for you…this year can be even better. Dream it! Believe it! Achieve it!
Shelly Aristizabal
http://www.unlockmagazine.com/
