By: James E Corbin II

Here we are, at the start of another new year, ready to continue moving forward in  our life’s journey. The beginning of the new year represents several things for a significant number of people like; the beginning of a new cycle, another do-over, survival of the fittest, hope, and blessings, to name a few. The start of the new year possesses a definite symbolic attribute meaning of new beginning and transformation. That’s why many people say, “out with the old, in with the new!” Then finally, the start of the new year can mean just another full revolution around our G-Class star (For the techy folks).

To me, the new year represents transformation and a new beginning.  I feel blessed to have another opportunity to fulfill my life’s purpose. Therefore, I’m appreciative of seeing another year come and go. I set a lot of goals last year and completed a lot. But I still have a lot more goals I wish to cover this year, so I’m laying out my top strategies for successful goal keeping and hope that it helps someone to manage better their attempt to reach their goals in the process.  Before I give my recipe for successful goal setting, allow me to talk about unsuccessful goal setting and why I didn’t achieve my goal(s).    

In the past, I was just like everyone else attempting to make a big New Year’s resolutions only to see my dreams and aspirations go flat or slowly fade away within the next few weeks. I truly meant well and attempted to keep the recommendations, but it just didn’t pan out that way. Therefore, I failed in the attempt.  Most people like setting New Year’s Resolutions because of the timing of the start of a new cycle. The beginning of the New Year signals a new beginning, a restart period with the advent of an official starter’s pistol going off (New Year’s Eve Firework Celebration) The energy is in the air, all individual is looking for a “ready-set GO! “from the announcer. So, why not ride the energy wave of this new cycle. Right?

Why does it go so wrong? According to U.S. News & World Report, the failure rate for New Year’s resolutions is said to be about 80 percent, and most lose their resolve by mid-February.   A great example of a standard failed decision is to get in a gym and get in shape or lose weight! I’ve made this resolution several times and failed. The idea was to get in the way for the summertime so that I can flex on the beach for the ladies with my pre-shrunk extra-medium t-shirt. The following year I still possessed a “taffy” shaped body similar to a rolled clay man I used to make in early head start. Soon I became disillusioned about setting goals until I learned the art and science of practical goal setting.

First, understand what a resolution is.  By definition, the term resolution (reza’looSH(  )n/: is A firm decision to do or not to do something. By this definition, this means that the person has decided to resolve some issue or something which needs attention before the item becomes more challenging to change. Like my body by Taffy at the time, it needed some serious work.  I had good intentions but couldn’t follow through. The top three reasons why most of us fail at keeping our goals are as follows.

The top four reasons why most resolutions fail.

 1. The decision is too vague. A great example is, you wish to lose weight. Making an ambiguous decision like this is setting yourself up for a near future failure. The problem is that there are no real specifics behind such a promise to change things.

 2. Negative perspective. How you frame something determines what type of mindset or you wish to draw the necessary energy to approach the change you want to make. Positive reframing can provide positive renewable energy instead of emotionally draining harmful sources of motivation. A great example of positive reframing would be the glass half empty or half full. It all depends on the observer’s life’s perspective. Are they optimistic or pessimistic?

3. What’s your “Why” for your under taking this goal? Many of us can draw energy from the so-called haters, but in most cases, it is very taxing and energy draining. Doing something to show up the “haters “in your life can become somewhat of a burden in time. Positive reframing plays a significant helpful role in achieving your goals

4. No estimated time for completion. Most unachieved goals have the common theme of no identified time this goal should reach. So, in many ways, it remains an ongoing process never genuinely attainable, or many have gotten side tracked by other things in its place. Having a realistic completion time is important because it keeps an individual focused on what needs to be promptly done.

The difference between goals and objectives are, a goal is a clear description of a specific destination or a long-term outcome a person or organization wish to achieve, within a year or more. A goal does not describe how to do something but rather how the results, in the end, should be. A goal is a singular, tangible, descriptive statement which is a stretch from the current state of being. 

In comparison, an objective is a measure of the progress that is necessary to reach that destination. It should outline the steps to attain a specific goal. They define the essential actions which must be pursued as well as the particular amount of effort and what time. They are specific, measurable, time-bound, actionable, and realistic.

Now, the question is, what the benefits of using goals to get things accomplished are? According to Minor (2005), there are three core principles involved with goal setting, a). Goals motivate individuals to put forth the effort by setting a task to pursue the goal b). Goals motivate and help keep persisting in the required activities until they help achieve the goal, and c). Goals help drive induvial to stay focused on what they’re trying to make.

There is a whole theory that goes into a practical goal setting. According to Locke and Dr. Gary Latham (1990), “A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance,” in which five essential principles were fundamental in practical goal setting. These five practical principles are clarity, challenge, commitment, feedback, and task complexity.

• Clarity- Be specific, coherent, and intelligible about what you wish to achieve.
• Challenge-a goal should be challenging to inspire you more, as well as achievable.
• Commitment- goals must be something which is agreed upon and should agree with what the award once completed should be
• Feedback-provides a loop to allow for corrections if necessary or get clarity regarding completion of the task
• Task Complexity- we all up for a good challenge but make something too complicated or daunting, then it will never get completed. The idea is to make sure you comprehend every nuance of the challenge

Locke’s research revealed that for goal setting to work, they need to be; achievable and measurable over time and have a clear specific, and precise outcome.

Setting S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound) Goals can help you achieve a lot.   

Specific- what needs to be achieved must be concisely described.

• A good example, I plan to lose weight by eating healthy salads and attending the gym three times a week for 1 hour.
• A bad example, I want to lose this belly fat.

Measurable- are based on metrics or benchmarks you can use to see are you on track for reaching this goal.

• A good example is on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I will work on the upper body for 1.5 hors and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I will work on lower body areas for 1.5 hours
• Abad example is I plan to workout

Attainable-goals that are attainable are more likely to be achieved. Genuinely being aware of the workload agreed as well as the available resources (time, money, skills) is vital to practical goal setting.

• A good example, I plan on losing 2.5 pounds per week by eating and working-out daily.
• I plan on loosing 50lbs soon

Relevant – are the goals you wish to achieve related to real life perspectives.

• A good example, I plan on reading a chapter a day from the Body Builder’s Bible to help me with my weight loss journey
• A bad example, I plan to learn computer coding.

Time Bound- this aspect of goal setting will keep you accountable. Being specific with timely results will keep you on track for success

• A good example, I plan on 8 to 10 pounds. In 8 to 9 weeks, using healthy eating and a strenuous work-out regimen.
• A bad example, I pan on loosing this weight, soon.

There are some great goal setting tools today offered on many platforms. Some of these tools can be informal such as a hand written diary /journal which helps you to track your progress, as well as listing daily achievements. There are plenty of Apps for your mobile phone to track progress and remind you when certain activities or steps which need to be completed. Then finally join a Mastermind group to keep you focused on the task at hand. Of course, these are only a few tools you can use. Ill is sure to add links below to help you in your goal setting achievement track.

Personally, I try to stay away from New Year’s Resolutions and start from my current position. Of course I begin acting on my goals after I complete an assessment of what I want to achieve.  Of course I came to trust myself in the process of goal setting after learning how to use these goal setting techniques and didn’t need to ride the start of the New year’s momentum wave any more.  Now, I meditate on the challenge ahead, lay out step by step and then execute.  Well,  I wish you all Happy Holidays and much success with your goal setting and look forward to the future success stories!    

Best Free Goal Setting Worksheets               https://www.developgoodhabits.com/goal-setting-worksheet/

47 Goal Setting Exercises, Tools, & Games (Incl. PDF Worksheets)     https://positivepsychology.com/goal-setting-exercises/

11 Goal-Setting Apps That Will Help Keep You On Track                                     https://www.bustle.com/p/11-goal-setting-apps-that-will-help-keep-you-on-track-12961869