How to Set Goals
By: N. Jerry Cho
Tags: Goal Setting, Productivity, New Years Resolutions, Planning

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It’s that time of the year when people think about how their year has been and start planning for the new year. 2020 has been a challenging year and most of us are expecting for the next year to be better.

However, just wishing for a better year isn’t going to cut it. We have to make plans and set goals for the next year. And then work our behinds off!

People who have new year’s resolutions in January have great aspirations for the new year. But soon, they find their plans don’t turn out as they planned. Unexpected things happen. Good old laziness kicks in. Then they lose momentum and motivation over time. And they are back to the drawing board, feeling bittersweet about seeing yet another new year’s resolution not being fulfilled.

Recently, I read a book, The Power of Moments by the Heath brothers and I found a few great ideas in the book that can be applied to setting a goal that people can actually accomplish.

Goal Setting Tip #1: No Numeric Values.

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Usually, we associate goals and progress with numbers. I don’t have anything against numbers. They are quantifiable. Numbers are great when it comes to measuring growth in general. So our new year’s resolution almost always involves numbers.

I’ll lose 20 lbs this year.

I’m going to read 5 books every month.

I’ll make one million dollars by the end of the week.

Although it may be logical to use numbers to set goals, try changing your number-goals into something more meaningful.

For example,

You can turn “I’ll lose 20 lbs this year” to “I’m going to rock that black dress I bought for next year’s Christmas party” or “My gray suit is going to fit perfectly.” Now, you’ll have to shed those extra 20 pounds in order to wear that black dress or that gray suit. So the goal of losing weight doesn’t change. But, by simply taking the numeric factor out of the equation, your goal sounds much more fun and inspiring.

Speaking of inspiration, did you want to learn a new language this year? Instead of setting your goal as “Learn Spanish,” think about what you want to do with your new language skills. How about a backpacking trip to Madrid this Summer? Buy the airplane ticket to Madrid. And print it out and post it on the wall so you can imagine the trip. Wouldn’t you be more inspired to learn Spanish?

Goal Setting Tip #2: Many Milestones.

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Having a grand goal is not a bad thing. In fact, we need a goal that can stretch us! If a goal is not challenging enough or too easy to attain, then we won’t be motivated to push ourselves. However, if a goal is too glorious for us to handle, we won’t even try to attain it. The secret ingredient is to have a great goal with many milestones.

Writing a novel might be a great goal to accomplish for a novice writer. However, the goal of writing a novel may seem too daunting at first. How about breaking down the goal into many milestones?

For example, a finished novel is the ultimate goal for this writer. A milestone along the way to the final goal might be writing one chapter or even just one page!

If your final goal is to lose 20 pounds, make sure you celebrate achieving a milestone of losing 5 pounds. You will be greatly motivated to get to your next milestone: losing the next 5 or 10 pounds. As the milestones heap up, you’ll be even more motivated to reach your ultimate goal.

What kind of a goal do you have for the coming year?

Whatever it might be, make it so that the goal inspires you. Just thinking about your goal should excite you! Get rid of the numeric values from your goal. And set many milestones along the way so you can track your progress as well as celebrate small wins. With these two tips, you can make the new year’s resolution more than just a wish — a reality.