Over 50% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but only 8% keep them for more than a few months. It’s the beginning of a new decade and as 2020 ends as the suckiest year, it’s more paramount to secure a fabulous year by setting goals. The ultimate guide to achieving goals is to first setting them.
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” -Tony Robbins
“Work for myself. Double my net worth within 10 years. October 18, 2015.”
While cleaning my desk, I came across this 10 year goal that I wrote. I was delighted when I read this for I realized that I achieved my goals. Ultimately, I ended up working for myself by retiring. I also doubled my net worth. The delight came from realizing that I wrote this goal only 5 years ago.
This is the power of goal setting.
New Years Resolutions
January is when people make resolutions and I do too.
These are some of the things that people most often promise to do when it comes to making New Years resolutions:
- Get in shape
- Eat healthier
- Stop procrastinating
- Make more money
- Watch less TV
- Quit drinking
- Stop smoking
What do they all have in common?
They are wishful thinking, not goals. Perhaps this is the reason that only 8% people stick to their New Years resolutions.
SMART GOAL
The most commonly method of setting goals for a work place is through the SMART goal:
S: specific
M: measurable
A: achievable
R: realistic
T: timely or time bound
I’ve used it many times but after achieving my goals, I often asked myself why I didn’t reach higher. Consequently, over the years, my goal setting has evolved into an acronym MAP. I like acronyms because it makes things easier to remember. MAP seemed fitting since I often say if you don’t know where you’re going, how will you get there?
MAP Goal
Motivation: First Element for Achieving Goal
What Do You Really Want?
If you’re not motivated, you will not achieve your goal. Furthermore, you will not be motivated if you can’t feel deeply about your goal. You have to be able to internalize it. Therefore, the first element in achieving your goal is that it should center around something you really want that is close to your heart that motivates you.
I asked my close friend the other day, “What do you want in 2021?” She said, “I don’t know.” This is a common response from a lot of people when ask them what they want.
I believe people live passively from day to day without really asking themselves, “What do I really want?” What they fear is discomfort. It is easier to watch a rerun of Friends than finding out what you really want and going after it. There cannot be progress without a challenge followed by action. If you do the same thing every day, nothing changes.
The next day, my friend said she thought about what she really wants. She wanted to live in Naples (a bay in Long Beach) and be able to paddle board every day. I knew that this was a goal that is dear to her heart and will motivate her to work on it and achieve her goal.
The ONE Thing
In the book the One Thing by Keller & Papasan, they ask, “What’s the ONE thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?” Formulate your goal by first asking yourself, “What is the most important thing that I want?” What is the one thing that by accomplishing it, everything else will follow? I knew that doubling my net worth will allow me to work for myself, have more time to spend with my family and travel.
Vision and Clarity
Can you visualize your goal and is it clear? Once my friend can visualize herself on a board gingerly paddling through a calm and peaceful bay in Naples, her goal became clear.
Be Audacious: Second Element of Achieving Goals
The second element of achieving goal is that it should be audacious. Your goal should elicit the feelings of being bold, daring, fearless and unafraid. The reason that I outgrew the SMART goal is is due to the fact that A elements which are achievable or attainable limited my goals and actions. If you’re going to work hard on achieving your goal, why not make it count?
“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” – Bill Gates
In my 10 year goal example, I knew I could double my net worth. However, thought it would be more realistic or reasonable to achieve it in 10 years versus five. If I had set my goal to triple my net worth, I might have invested in more real estate ventures instead of just one. Words like achievable, realistic, and reasonable make you set low goals that are limited. Perhaps the reason that 65% Americans retire with less than $100,000 is because they don’t set audacious goals or don’t set them at all. If you absolutely knew you’ll achieve your goal, would you reach for the star? Set your goals high. Instead of setting achievable goals, set audacious ones.
Plan: Third Element of Achieving Goals
Time It
The amount of time you spend managing your finance will directly impact how much money you’ll have to become finally free. The third element in achieving goals is to set a time line. Without a time line, it’s impossible to measure it. An example of, I will double my net worth in 10 years has a time limit therefore is measurable.
“The moment you put a deadline on your dream, it becomes a goal.” – Stephen Kellogg
Learn It
When you set your goal, you may not know how to go about getting it accomplished. We are more comfortable doing something we already know how and avoid the things we’re not good at. Therefore, learning how to do something is one of the key to achieving your goal.
I put off starting my blog for a long time. It took over a week to write my first blog and even longer to learn how to start a website and post it. I sometimes went weeks without posting more blogs. However, by doing it multiple times, eventually it became easier and I got faster at writing. Creating something after learning how to do it gave me a sense of accomplishment.
Schedule It
In order to achieve your goal, you need to spend time working on it. By creating a schedule, you’re carving out a specific time to work towards your goal. Spend time consistently. How much time you need to spend depends on your goal and how badly you want it. If you want to lose weight, spending 1 hour once a month is not going to cut it. If your goal is to double your net worth in 5 years, start off by spending at least 30’ to 1 hour each week learning how to do it. The more time you spend working on your goal, the faster you’ll achieve your goals. Schedule it on your calendar and make time to work consistently on your goal.
Practice It
If your goal is to double your net worth in 5 years, what are you willing to do to achieve it? As Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book Outlier, you need to spend 10,000 hours of practice to perfect a task. Although you may not want to spend this many hours managing your finance, you do need to practice doing it. At first, you may not know how to do it. Research it on YouTube, read a book, or read the Nurses Nest Eggs blogs. By studying a little bit at a time, you will eventually gather enough tools to learn how to invest in stocks, real estate, and business to grow your nest eggs.
Set Three Goals to Achieve Balance in Your Life
Each year, I set three goals. These goals include personal, professional and financial. You can have all the money in the world but if you don’t have family or friends to share it with, you will not be happy. Personal goals can include improving relationships, health, or habits. Examples of professional goals are meeting your objectives or becoming the boss. Since retiring, I converted my professional goals into a community service goal. Finally, financial goals can include earning more income, doubling or tripling your net worth or starting a business.
Summary
As we start the new decade, set goals that motivate you. Make these goals audacious and ambitious. Finally, make a detailed plan on what you intend to do, how much time you plan to spend learning, practicing and working on your goals. Finally, write down your goals and place it where you can read it daily.
Happy New Decade and best of luck to all of you!
Please feel free to share your goal
“…The people who get things done, who lead, who grow and who make an impact…Those people have goals.” -Seth Godin