“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
Henry David Thoreau, Author Walden
2020, the New Year and a new decade is upon us providing us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on the last year and set the course for where we are headed in the coming 12 months.
Traditionally, resolutions are made on New Year’s Eve; often by February, many people’s resolve has dissolved because of competing priorities, distractions, a lack of will power or absence of self-accountability.
Those who make grand resolutions, mentality commit to things like being healthier, losing weight, knuckling down at work, spending more quality time with their family, or progressing in their career.
If you’re setting a new course for 2020, what can you do to stay on track and achieve your goals and sail through the traditionally choppy waters of February?
Goal setting rather than resolution-making is a definite and tangible way of helping you to be successful. You can dream as large as you like, but without understanding the specific actions you need to take to achieve your dreams, those dreams may not become reality.
Understanding the real value, to you and those you care about, of achieving the goal, will help strengthen your resolve to being successful. When you are successful, what will you enjoy that you’re not already enjoying? What will you be able to do that you’re not already doing? Being clear about what will be different will help with your resolve but it won’t be enough to help you achieve your goals.
Commitments made without clarifying the “how”, “what” or “when” that is needed to achieve those resolutions, means that the resolutions are more likely to remain “castles in the air” than goals that will be achieved.
Elite level athletes with their various support teams have the practise of goal setting nailed. An Olympian starts their quest for a gold medal by breaking down what it takes to be the best in the world. They do this by planning their training, their competition schedules and their lives around goal specific building blocks or milestones, whether they be the mileage to be trained, the weights to be lifted, the calories to be counted, the competition qualification standards to be realised. Their progress is mapped and monitored and any incremental achievements on the way to achieving the overall goal are celebrated.
Don’t just build castles in the air this New Year’s Eve – build the foundations you need for the success you seek through clear goals and if you need help, talk to us at Kea Insight about how our coaches can work with you to make 2020 your year.
Without clear goals in place, decision making is likely to be less focused and choices available are likely to be less desirable. This means that progress can be stalled or stopped because the momentum built on New Year’s Day can evaporate and time can escape unless resolutions are made with more steadfast goals with clear plans for the actions required.
Breaking down the goal into actions and laying out those actions as a series of increments and manageable chunks of activity, is one way of starting to turn dreams into a reality. Another step towards success is to be SMART about your goal setting:
Specific: Being concise and clear about your vision and goal
Measurable: Knowing how you’ll measure your success and when you’ve achieved your goal
Attainable: Determining that your goal is realistic and achievable
Relevant: Understanding why the goal is going to take you in the direction you want to go
Time-bound: Putting a definitive time on each activity to help ensure self-accountability
Elite level athletes with their various support teams have the practise of SMARTgoal setting nailed. An Olympian starts their quest for a gold medal by breaking down what it takes to be the best in the world. They do this by planning their training, their competition schedules and their lives around goal specific building blocks or milestones, whether they be the mileage to be trained, the weights to be lifted, the calories to be counted, the competition qualification standards to be realised. Their progress is mapped and monitored and any incremental achievements on the way to achieving the overall goal are celebrated.
We at Kea Coaching can help you to define and realise your goals for 2020. Throughout the coaching process we will work alongside you to tease out and be concise about what is possible in your life and help you pre-empt or foresee what might hinder you in your progress and give you a way to address any barriers to your success.
Don’t just build castles in the air this New Year’s Eve – build the foundations you need for the success you seek through clear goals and if you need help, talk to us at Kea Insight about how our coaches can work with you to make 2020 your year.