make a plan to achieve your goals
Happy New Year to those of you who are regulars and a warm welcome to any new readers! I finished 2015 with some great news – I have a new role at Rackspace (my day job). I am now Chief Digital Technologist. I’m going to post more about my new role soon, but you can certainly expect more detailed ecommerce and digital strategy in my forthcoming 2016 content. That is really where I wanted to kick this year off – with a look at setting personal goals and the possibilities that a New Year can offer. Each year most people set a resolution with the aim achieving some sort of self-improvement. Not sticking to these goals and failing to make any significant progress can be a demoralising experience and it can actually have a negative impact on your development and career. So how do you ensure this does not happen to you?
I don’t want this to sound like some sort of tacky self-help book. This blog post is not going to make you become an overnight success, lose weight or become more efficient at work. I am firmly of the belief that if you want to change something and you are determined to do it, then you can. The reason so many people fail and end up reverting to previous behaviours is a general lack of motivation and willpower. Taking the easy and familiar path is the simplest route and one we are used to, that is the constant fight in driving a change in your life. So what sort of improvements, changes or (dare I say it) resolutions, am I referring to? It could be anything really, from weight loss (always popular after a heavy Xmas break) to starting a blog to getting a new job to sorting out your personal finances. The New Year is a time of new beginnings, you can draw a line in the sand and start over.
So how do you start? Once you’ve decided what form your improvement will take, you need to look at setting goals. This is the most important part of embracing change. Project management theory recommends that objectives have the following characteristics: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound – spelling out the handy acronym SMART project goals defined. If you ensure when you set a goal you use these criteria, it will force you to think about the challenge ahead and help you define it more clearly. With distinct goals in place the requirements for effective achievement will become clearer. While goal setting is vital, the hard work is still to come and that means implementing a new regime and meeting your newly developed plan.
Changing your attitude is all about developing new habits and sticking to them. My recommendation is not to change too much at once (hence setting attainable objectives) and start with baby steps. For example if you want to lose 5kg and get physically fitter, this will only happen if you weight loss is really simple math. If you start by denying yourself everything you enjoy, it will make you miserable and it will be much harder to reach a target. Instead maybe a good place to start is to cut down on alcohol consumption but don’t completely give up. Every now and then it’s good to reward your progress, so ensure that you review often and monitor your progress. If you set suitable goals then you’ll be encouraged to greater achievement by your success.
In the end the only person who can make a plan to improve and stick to it is you. Speaking from personal experience you must become accountable. If you need help to stay motivated then you can work as part of a team or group. However, beware of temptation when that support mechanism is removed. Flourishing when someone is checking up on you is all well and good, but permanent change can only be realised on your own. If you are on the brink of failure then take a step back, think for 5 minutes and give yourself your own pep talk. Did you really want to change? Is it really worth is? Of course it is, you can do this! Be ruthless, stay motivated and become a better person.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading, engaging with me on social media and all the feedback I’ve had since I started this blog. I’m looking forward to a big 2016!
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