It’s October and you know what that means?! Three more months left to work off that resolution list…if you could find it. Hmm, where did you see it last? Maybe it was chilling out by the barely used gym membership? Nope. Then it must be under the unread Eating Well and Shape magazines. Strike two huh? Hey, is that it next to your ultimate ergonomic and bio-friendly hydration system designed to deliver maximum ‘moisturization’ to all your cells…you know, that almost new $100 water bottle?! LOL I’m poking fun cause I’ve been there! And because he who feels it knows, I want to suggest a different way to make that progress in your life…I mean, that is why you made the list in the first place, right?
Seriously though, I’d suggest you find your list now because it’s almost the Holiday season, and I’m betting that about a third of your ‘goals’ probably have something to do with indulging in excess—food, drink, physical activity, and money are usually list favs, and coincidentally are also popular favs during the Season! At this point though, you’ve got, say, three solid ways to think about your current situation:
- “Ha! Three months is nothing! I only really need, like, one. I’ve still got this” (Denial)
- “Hmmm, I said I was going to do what?! That was some good champagne! Well, let’s not make it any worse than it already is” (Acceptance)
- “Ah well, better luck next year, bring on the pumpkin pies, ham and ponche-de-creme!!” (Don’t give a what-what)
I’ve experienced all three states. So when I found myself listing down “get my license” for the umpteenth time, man I knew I was in a sad state. But, I love lists. They make me feel productive and organized. Note well, I said “feel”. Don’t get me wrong, when used properly, lists keep me on point. They are tools to being productive and organized. Putting on a lab coat and donning a stethoscope doesn’t make me a doctor, they are just tools of the trade. But how many of us stop at the list-making stage?
If I’m going to the grocery, then a simple list is fine. I don’t need to elaborate on it, or break errant habits or work on anything complicated. A life-changing list though is another beast. I’ve been engaging in certain behaviors for years, and my deciding that I want to change them all, in one year no less, is very ambitious. It makes sense then that I would need an ambitious approach! Will my goals be doable? Maybe, maybe not. But I wouldn’t know unless I figure out how to start.
So think of a video game. The only game I played all the way through was Heavenly Sword (I guess no sequel huh? Sigh, Nariko you are missed). In the beginning, I was doing single moves and simple combos. By the end, my thumbs were sore because it got much more difficult. The smaller moves were the warm-up for the bigger ones that helped me defeat the game! I’m not a gamer (no? really?) and it took a while for me to accomplish this, and I’m not ashamed to say that I did get help from my husband who’s way better at this than I am. Defeating General Whiptail was a pain!
My lists slowly evolved into the system I use now. As a quick aside, I’d been reading a lot of self-help materials and had been watching quite a few inspirational videos for a bit. As my outlook on life changed, so did the way I began planning for it. This is how I approach creating and completing goals in my life now:
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- List key areas or domains in my life. I’ve come up with about twelve of these. Some examples are financial, personal, parental marital, spiritual and physical.
- List reasons for why the area/domain is important to me. I got this idea from listening to Les Brown. He suggested that we write down the whys to what we were doing because there were going to be some days that test us, and we would need to remember why we wanted to make that change in the first place. I think stating why the domain is important also connects us deeper to that area because we would have to actually sit down and really think about, say, why taking care of our physical self is important and why, then, managing our weight is worth adding to our list.
- List how I am going to achieve this goal. Now these are your regular list items. Lose weight, eat better etc.
- Elaborate on list items. How will you lose weight? What proportion of your diet will you change?
- Assess resources in my life that can help me achieve these goals. If you don’t have the resources in your life, then you’ll probably not succeed. Willpower is awesome. Willpower and more time are even better. Willpower, time and a work out buddy?—Jackpot!!! If you don’t have a resource, find out how to get it, and how long it will take you to get it. Move things around to maintain traction.
- Optional: Create a vision plan for those areas or domains. I only do this for career and personal domains right now. I will eventually begin for everything else. This vision plan will be your manifesto. At the end of it all, what are you truly going for? What is your end game?
- Find a way to track your progress. I’m still working on this but I know that I’m moving along. I would like to chart this though because seeing it will give me a really big boost of you-go-girl!
This process takes time. I usually do it just before or after New Years, but I must do it within a week of the New Year—no sense I start the year off procrastinating! Use your current list, and apply it the above system. You might see that some of your items get consolidated into one. In fact, you might actually notice that the reason you weren’t succeeding and crossing off some of your list items was because you were trying to accomplish a level nine task with level one skills and resources, for instance.
Now that you have a better organized plan, it will be easier to make your mark in this world! I’ll be following up with posts that showcase this system. I will share with you a sample of some of my goals and how I flesh them out. I’ll also address how successful (or not) I’ve been.
Was this helpful? I hope so. Let me know either way
Best, Olanta
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