Resume Writers Digest Goal-Setting (Part I) Where Have You Been

Resume Writers' Digest Goal-Setting (Part I) Where Have You Been Goal-setting is one of the most important activities you can do to be successful. The start of a new year is a natural time to stop and take stock of where you want to go. To start 2019, I'm going to create a series of blog posts that will give you an opportunity to look back at the past year, figure out where you are now, and also determine your direction for the new year. Today's post is about REFLECTION. Goal setting isn't just about looking forward. It's also about learning. In 2018, what was your biggest disappointment or regret? This one might take a minute to come up with or it may spring right to your mind. Was there a project you didnt finish? Something you wanted to get done in your business that you didnt? Or how you handled a particular client or opportunity? Did you have plans for yourself in 2018 that weren't realized? Were there things that you wanted to accomplish this year that you didnt get one? What was the reason or reasons you didnt get it done? Did other priorities and activities distract you? Did you forget to work on it? Did you give up because it was too difficult to accomplish? Was your WHY not big enough? That last one is important. Your motivation for wanting to accomplish something is vital to you achieving your goal. This is sometimes called Your Big Why. Do you remember why you wanted to do this? If you dont know that, youre going to have a hard time achieving your goal because your motivation needs to be big enough to overcome the resistance that youre going to face as you work toward your goal. Change can be great but its also intimidating (even scary!) and difficult. If you dont have a big enough why driving you, its easy to do the stuff thats more familiar and predictable. It can be very useful to look at why you didnt achieve your goals and figure out what you can do differently. For example, if you want to stop smoking, you may have a great WHY behind the goal, but you probably also have a reason that youve been unsuccessful in achieving this goal previously. Maybe you have friends or a spouse who still smokes. Or maybe youre afraid about gaining weight if you give up smoking. Recognizing the obstacles that have stopped you before will help you be more successful this time around. But I dont want to get too caught up in the past. This is about creating the future you want, becoming the person you want to be, and finishing things youve never been able to finish before. But the more motivated you are to achieve your goals, the more likely you are to achieve them because motivation gives a lot of fuel to the fire. That's step one. Happy New Year! Read part two here: Goal-Setting (Part II): Where Are You Going?