How are you doing with your New Year’s Resolutions? I see you looking down at the floor. I guess you have already broken those things. What about those of you who intended to work up SMART goals? You haven’t started them yet, have you? Now that we know where we stand, let’s look at goals in another smart fashion.
Goals usually wind up in one of two buckets. The first are the goals we know we have a very good likelihood of keeping because we have done those already and know how we do. The second bucket is goals that we are not very sure we can accomplish because we are trying something new. It’s a good idea to have some goals in each bucket.
Do you think the first bucketful of goals we know we can already do is a dumb set of goals. Why have a goal that you are sure you can do? Think of these as smart goals because you will gain confidence each time you do them successfully. Feeling successful makes you more willing to try new things because you think you can.
But what about the other bucket? What about the goals that you might not think are very smart or that you don’t think you can achieve?
We have already seen plenty about goal setting, but what about ways to achieve them? Let’s say that you have a goal in your not-so-sure bucket. May I make some suggestions as to how you can accomplish them? Your brain will help you succeed if you believe you can achieve it.
So let’s look at some smart ways to help your brain believe.
- It’s a great idea to have humongous goals, but to achieve them you are going to have to do something other than dream. To get past the dream stage you need to have a reason you want to achieve a certain goal and you need a deep-seated desire to do so. The problem with these kinds of goals is there is a lot of brain resistance to doing the actual work. You have plenty of chances to tell yourself you can’t do this, but with a reason and your deep-seated desire you can achieve any of your smart goals.
- Rome wasn’t built in a day. We’ve heard since we were kids. How does this apply to your humongous smart goal? You need to break it down into small bites that you can work on in a day or every day. If your goal is to learn a new language, you won’t learn it overnight. But you can learn it if you are willing to work on it for 30 minutes twice a day. This is something you can achieve. It’s sustainable and reasonable.
- Work on your goal daily. As you keep doing the little bit you decided you could do every day, you will see yourself getting closer to the goal. Here’s a little secret. You need to work on your goal consistently for 30 days to create a good momentum or you won’t get there. So if you lose a day, don’t make an issue of it, just get back to it the very next day.
- You have divided the smart goal into small bites. Now that you are getting a feel for what you are accomplishing it’s time to make your small bites a little more difficult. Don’t make them so tough that your brain says you can’t. You can adjust and adapt until you are in the right place between too easy and too hard.
- Don’t go into this alone. Have an accountability buddy who can tell you if you are moving forward and can give you a high-five as you do. If you aren’t brave enough to ask for such help, you can reward yourself. If you work off a daily to-do list, the act of crossing off your daily bite might be enough of a reward. You can give yourself gold stars. Yes, that’s cheesy, but your brain loves to know that you are going good.
- You can’t focus on that goal or even the little bite all the time. That’s not smart. You need to take time out where you aren’t focusing on it, or you can allow yourself cheat a little or even don’t do it ONE day. Since you know you are going to do that anyway, why not schedule some “me” time. That way you won’t feel guilty. But be sure you don’t make a habit of taking “me” time or you will lose your habit of working on your goal.
- You are going to get bored. Doing a little bite out of the smart goal is going to be boring at times. It’s like mowing the grass. You get it mowed, then later that day it rains; and you ask yourself why mow the grass at all. Working on your goal, in this case a well-manicured lawn, means that you have to do something daily even when it’s boring. You succeed at your smart goal with stick-to-it-iveness. As you keep going you will achieve your goal.
So that is a way to achieve those goals in your in your second bucket. Keep going in the direction you want to go and then don’t stop no matter how bored you might get. Schedule in times for a break and create some positive rewards. Before you know it this smart goal will be so easy that you know you can.
If you are struggling with achieving your goals, we can help you develop a Roadmap to help you to achieve your marketing goals.
What steps have you taken to achieve your goals? Do you have a suggestion that might help someone else reading the comments below? Please share.
Jaco Grobbelaar is the owner of BroadVision Marketing. BroadVision Marketing works with business owners to put in place inbound and outbound marketing strategies that consistently secure new clients. The BroadVision Marketing Training Center is located in Petaluma, CA and primarily serves companies in the San Francisco Bay area.
Jaco can be reached at jaco@broadvisionmarketing.com or 707.766.9778 or connect with Jaco on Facebook - www.facebook.com/broadvisionmarketing - and LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/JacoGrobbelaar.