We all have ideas of where we want to go and goals we want to achieve in life. Whether it be a career path, holiday destination, or buying a house or car, we all have certain dreams and aspirations. These are great things to have, but sadly they have a tendency to not achieve themselves. So this leaves us with the challenge of trying to figure out how to get from where we are in the present to where we want to be in the future.
The most valuable tool in this journey is the use of goals. Setting goals is a massively useful and valuable skill to have. More importantly, the ability to set achievable goals. Goals are the stepping stones we use to get us incrementally closer towards our big ambitions and dreams in life. Goals and their measurement provide us the security of knowing whether we are on track to our dreams or not. There is an old African proverb that says “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”. Think of goals as the steps we take in the journey of life. We always need to start somewhere. We have mentioned before that there is value in not trying to overhaul your entire life all at once, and there is value in small, sustainable changes over time. This mentality is true for goal setting too. We should try to remember that having lots of small achievable goals is going to be a lot more effective in getting you to your dreams than one big goal. Just as we would quickly tire out if we only walked everywhere in big loping strides, so we will quickly grow tired and flail in our efforts if we only ever set big and spacious goals!
When we think about how we want to get from where we are to where we want to go, start to think about what the next step is in that journey. Ask yourself “What can I do today to get myself that little bit closer to where I want to be?”. Even if it is just one small thing, the small things very quickly add up into big progress. If you are serious about bringing change into your life this new year and want to start intentionally moving yourself toward being a better, healthier, more accomplished person in 2021 it is well worth your time to sit down with pen and paper and think about what steps you need to take to get there.
New Year’s resolutions so often fail because we somehow convince ourselves that we will be better at the start of January, or we will change our ways in the New Year. Do not be dictated to by the calendar. The best time to make change is right now. What we need is a Health Revolution not another Resolution. Those of us who are serious about making changes always do so immediately.
