With the coming of a New Year so too come new resolutions, new dreams, new goals that we all want to pursue. Everyone starts off the same but by the end of the year many people will have failed to achieve their goals. While I wish there was a magic formula that guaranteed all of our dreams did indeed come true there are a few rules that can help you achieve you dreams this year.
The first rule is oddly normal. You cannot achieve your dreams if they are not obtainable. If you want to succeed you will need goals that you can reach. This is not an excuse for setting a ridiculously low bar, like “I will go on a walk this year.” This rule is intended to try and keep us from biting off more than we can chew. Our goals and dreams do not have to be achieved all at once, if you want to solve a really big problem you may need to break it up into small chunks. I want to publish a book this year, that is great but only if I have a book already written and ready to sell. If I don’t then perhaps I should set my goals lower, instead choosing to write a book to sell this year.
The second rule is to be as specific as possible. Wanting to get into shape is great but that is not a goal. Instead be specific, say I want to lose 40 pounds this year or I want to be able to run a 5K. These goals are way more specific than the nebulous “be healthy” many of us originally choose at New Years after weeks of binge eating. In my case I do want to get a book published, I have it in my hands. But how am I going to publish it? With the traditional method of finding an agent? Submitting through a slush pile? Independently? Each of these paths have the same result but the method needed to achieve them are wildly different. This is why is is so important to be specific.
Another reason we want to be specific is because of our third point, our goals should be measurable. The journey of a thousand miles is made up of several thousand steps. Usually our goals must be taken one day at a time. Setting an end goal also means that you will need to plot a path to complete that work. Running a marathon? Then it involves measuring your performance and cardio each week. This week run a half mile. Next week run a mile. Build upon your successes and eventually you will get to that goal. Back to my writing analogy, I should know how many agents will I submit to each month? How many pages will I edit as I wait for responses? Which agents will I send queries too? All of these are questions that will need to be answered early on in your journey.
No one sets a goal expecting to fail. We all want to succeed and sometimes that desire can trip us up. It is important to remember that we are all human. You may miss a day of writing, or hurt your knee running. That does not mean that your dreams are through, it is now January 14, there are still another 351 days to achieve your dreams. Don’t let a minor set back derail everything. Get back up, readjust your goals and get going again. Along this journey there will be valleys, there will be mountains. But in the end it is up to you to complete it. Its time to get moving!