On the last day of every month, I sit back, look at everything that’s happened over the last 4 weeks and set my sights on what’s ahead. I pick up a pen and write out my goals for the upcoming month. Some are personal, some are professional, the key here is that every line I write is important to me. Whenever there’s anything that I can share that might make a difference for someone’s self-motivation, I’m always game and this blog post is just that; me, sharing a habit that has a positive impact on my life.
The Ritual:
- Details matter.
I set monthly goals. Again, this is a personal choice. My projections at work layout my yearly and monthly expectations (that helps me determine what my professional goal will be for the month). As an example, I’ve set a goal to personally add 1,000 users to our platform in the month of July and that’s what’s on the monthly goal list. From there, I break down that goal and specify the ‘who’ and the ‘how’.
- Who – what customers, specifically, do I plan to bring on? Where am I at with each of those people and what will it take to get them on our platform?
- How – looking back at the last question above, I take into consideration timing, method and resources and plug away.
In other words, it’s great to list that you want to lose 10 pounds this month but how do you plan to achieve that? Meal plans? Workouts? When will you workout? If you add details and thought to the goal you can guarantee 2 things. First, you care enough about this goal to flesh it out. Second, you’ll have a detailed plan to help you achieve or maybe even exceed your goal.
- Include things that matter to you.
Fleshing out a goal and divvying it up across your month as a plan can be done for anything: saving money, losing weight, career advancement and the list goes on. What’s important is that every goal you list has a legitimate reason for taking up space as a monthly goal at all. I list things from date nights with the hubby to which books I plan to read. I think of my career, my family life and my home. I have goals to advance and/or nurture each one of those. While my focus might shift slightly from month to month, I always ensure to only add things that matter to me. When you care about the ultimate outcome, you’re bound to put the energy needed to check those boxes off at the end of the month.
- Push yourself.
Most people have heard the term ‘SMART goals’, right? There’s one letter in that acronym that bothers me, the “A” for achievable. Depending on what article you’re reading, it stands for different things but overall, it always comes back to setting goals that you know you can attain. That, to me, is the wrong way to go. If you think you can save $1,000 this month, push yourself to save $1,200. Why even bother to write it down if it’s a safe assumption and achievable? What satisfaction will you gain from checking it off if it was a given anyway? I’m a believer in pushing yourself beyond your limit. Our limits are set by what we allow ourselves to believe. Why not try harder, believe a little bit more and come out ahead?
There you have it—Mel’s goal setting 101.
Did you know that June 30, 2017 is observed as Social Media Day across the globe (and the web)? It’s no doubt that social media has completely changed our lives over the years and has defined how we interact with our friends, family, colleagues and the rest of the world.
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