Well, it’s nearly here. 2017 is a fortnight away. Most of us set up goals for every new year. But only a few of us achieve them. Everyone wants to achieve their goals, but only a few of us are ready to do what it takes.
If you are like most people, you have already decided what you want to achieve in 2017. It is maybe going to the gym daily, reading books, save money for a trip, being more social, or any other thing. But studies show that 90% people give up their new year resolutions before the end of January!
I’m no expert on achieving goals, heck I’m a big-time procrastinator myself. But I’m trying to change that, and I hope you are too. Here are few tips to help you start 2017 like a pro and achieve your new year resolutions:
Know What You Want To Achieve
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
― Tony Robbins
If you haven’t set up your goals for 2017 yet, the first step is to decide what you want to achieve.
You can’t achieve anything significant in life unless you know what you want to achieve. Set up your goals. Make them something meaningful, something which will help you improve. Your goals should be something that’s important to you so that the goals can motivate you.
Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take. Since you plan to spend your time, effort and resources on them, make sure your goals are worth it.
Start Today
“The beginning is always today.”
― Mary Shelley
Well, you heard it. The best way to achieve your goals for the next years is to start today. Making a start is half work done. But people usually leave it at that. The other half of the work is to continue the momentum.
Think about this. December has 31 days. If you start today, you have more than 30 days to build a kickass momentum that can carry you all the way. It’s not going to be easy; you probably got the plans to relax and enjoy the festive period. But if you start today, you get a headstart over everyone else. While people will begin their journey in January 2017, you would already be few checkpoints ahead.
Be The Wolf In The Winter
“When winter comes… You’ll hear no lions roar… No stags grazing the fields… No roses growing in the meadows… Only the wolves howl in the night… Winter is coming.”
― Unknown
With the temperature falling, the commitment to the goals falls too for most people. Who doesn’t love the comfort of a warm bed in winters after all?
But be the wolf, and don’t let the weather come in your way. Don’t let the cold weather stand in your way to success. Your instinct may be to sleep in every day, but the real fight is out there, and so is your victory.
Don’t Give In To The Dark Side of Procrastination
That sounds a bit dramatic, but who doesn’t love a reference to Star Wars?
“Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.”
― Mason Cooley
If you start early, there are a lot of chances that you’ll be ahead of everyone. But at that time, don’t give in to the dark side of procrastination. Fight it. We all know too well what happened when the rabbit slowed down for a rest.
It is easy to start taking things likely when you are ahead of the crowd. But remember others may be on your heels in a flash if you slow down too much or for too long.
To achieve the success, you have to work continuously; you just can’t give in to procrastination.
Divide and Rule
“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small job.”
―
When you have set a goal, try to divide it into small parts or checkpoints.
A task which may look gigantic can be divided into small, manageable segments. Don’t concentrate on the whole task, but dedicate yourself to completing the small parts. Smaller tasks help in focusing and avoiding stress.
Slowly and steadily, as you complete each small task, you’ll move closer to achieving your ultimate “gigantic” goal.
Go For Happiness, Not Pleasure
“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.”
―Dalai Lama
Pleasure and happiness: these two times may look similar, but there is a big difference between them.
Pleasure is a momentary feeling that comes from something external while happiness is an internal state of mind. Happiness is the sense of fulfilment and satisfaction you get on achieving a goal. On the other hand, pleasure is more dependent upon the external factors and is this unpredictable.
Pleasure is easy to achieve and is short-lived. Pleasure can be bought, but happiness is earned through actions. Anything worth doing brings a satisfaction that distraction never can. Push through the difficulty. That’s where a joy that those who stop will never taste.
Call To Action
Make a list of what you want to achieve. And start today. You’ll thank yourself come 1st January 2017, I promise.
What are your goals for 2017? I would love to hear how do you plan to achieve them?
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Nitin Sharma
