How To FOCUS on Your 2013 GOALS !!!-Why Goal Setting & New Year Resolutions Fail…

Happy New Year Everyone.
It’s a brand New Year and as usual, prayers have been said, 2013 prophecies abound everywhere, new year resolutions are flying in the air.

But, it’s only the fourth day, and I can imagine some resolutions have already been broken.

And the question I ask is this: How many dreams will fail this year?

How many goals will be rendered dormant in 2013? And the answer came thus: "Same as Last year".

Why is this so? Well, it’s been like that forever. I'm not a prophet; but I believe in trends. And I discovered one thing about History: It usually repeat itself. According to Karl Marx “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”. “If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience”-George Bernard Shaw

The road to hell they say is paved with good intentions. The question is this, are we prepared to follow through on our 2013 goals? I'm taking for granted that my readers have set their 2013 goals. But, the cold fact is this: only a tiny percentage of us have "Written goals".

An often discussed 1979 Harvard survey of a class of MBA program students asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them? Here’s what the study revealed then:

■ 3% in the class had written goals and plans

■ 13% had unwritten goals

■ 84% had no goals at all

Ten years later 3% of individuals with written goals had a higher net worth than the other 97% combined! To be exact, the 13% with unwritten goals earned twice as much as the 84% with no goals. Even more incredible, the 3% with written goals and plans earned ten times as much as all the others put together.

It’s a fact. People who have clear, strong goals, especially WRITTEN ones, are far more likely to succeed than those who don’t.

In my view, there are standard seven areas for goal setting:

■Spiritual ■Family ■Financial ■Physical ■Career ■Learning ■Business/Investment Goals. All of which can be cascaded into: ■Daily ■Weekly & ■Monthly Goals (Or Short, Mid and Long-term goals) whichever works for you.

But, why do we lose momentum in the pursuit? Why do we relent in our efforts? Why do goals die a natural death? Why is it so difficult to "execute" something as important as “I shall lose 10kg in 2013” “I shall register for my Masters Degree programme in 2013”, or “I shall quit smoking…” “I shall save X% of my salary towards xxx…” etc.

WHY GOAL SETTING & NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS FAIL…

There are probably a thousand reasons why we fail to birth our once exciting dreams; but I'll focus on eight quick points:

1.       NO GOALS. Nothing is as wasteful as having no goals. According to Plutarch "When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer." Living in uncertainty is energy consuming, unnerving and stressful. My view is best captured in the words of that great American educator Benjamin E. Mays when he said:

     “It must be borne in mind that the tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn't a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a disaster to have no ideal to capture. It is not a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is sin."

2.       POORLY SET GOALS: Poor Planning Prevents Perfect Presentation of Proposals. If the plan is defective, execution will be difficult. And may I quickly add; if the goals are not WRITTEN, then it's not a Goal, its mere wishes or discussions.

3.       LACK OF FOCUS: Tiger-woods remain my favorite golfer, but he'll surely loose his game if blind folded. Just as sending or replying a BB message while driving a car is a short-cut to motor accident. We're wired to pursue only what we can see. Steve Jobs near the end of his life was visited at home by Larry Page, who was about to resume control of Google, the company he had confounded. Even though their companies were feuding, Jobs was willing to give some advice. “The main thing he stressed was “Be Focused”. Figure out what Google wants to be when it grows up, he told Page. “It’s now all over the map. What are the five products you want to focus on? Get rid of the rest, because they’re dragging you down. They’re turning you into Microsoft. They’re causing you to turn out products that are adequate but not great.” Page followed the advice. In January 2012 he told employees to focus on just a few priorities, such as Android and Google+, and to make them “beautiful,” the way Jobs would have done.

4.       DISTRACTIONS: I'm a big fan of Social media, Blackberry & cool business gadgets. But caveat emptor: Blackberry is a.k.a: Crackberry! While I reckon that Facebook can be "addictive". Too much of anything is not good. I stand to be corrected but in my view, the following items are guaranteed to distract you or even derail you completely if not dealt with: (a.) Soap operas. (b.) Pornography (c.) Television (d.) Unhealthy relationships. I'll give more details on these in another article.

5.       UNPLANNED MEETINGS. This is a confirmed big time waster.

6.       INABILITY TO SAY "NO". Being a "Yes" man or woman can be very derailing. Its okay to prove you can do the job or impress the boss. But, sometimes quick/ friendly requests, (from colleagues or family), may end up taking the whole day to achieve.

7.       TELEPHONE INTERRUPTIONS: My cool callers always ask "Hey Leke, is this a good time to talk?" Whatever can be said, can be said shortly. Keep it short and simple (Kiss). Go straight to the point, especially if it’s your boss, (Or your spouse during office hours-Lol).

8.       GO FOR THE WHALE: Take my advice, you can't do everything. Learn to strategically “drop” the small fishes (mundane task) and go for the Whale (Value adding task). Small fishes will take all your time to catch, fill your boat with rubbish and sell for a nickel per kilo. If you catch one Big Whale it can pay for the whole voyage. (That's more rewards or great sense of accomplishment for you).

Wishing you all the best in 2013.
Leke Oshiyemi: Experienced Human Resources Professional | HR-Business Partner | Talent Acquisition & Training Specialist  | Life & Career Coach: +2348033071649