Today marks the beginning of the 4th quarter. This is the time when a lot of people look at their unmet goals and think that there isn’t time left to achieve them. They skate on through the end of the year and set the same goals in January. Failing to meet your goals can leave you feeling defeated and frustrated. Here’s my question: What are you waiting for? You have a full quarter of the year left! You can achieve that goal or at least get closer than where you are now!
Steps to a strong finish to the year:
1) Write down your goals. Look back at your goals from January. Did you write them down and make a commitment? If not, start now! Just the act of writing goals down increases your odds of achieving them. Make sure to include a due date otherwise it’s easy to keep pushing it aside. Remember: 3-4 goals at a time is plenty.
2) Find support. Who is your accountability partner? Someone on the receiving end of your commitment can help encourage you. This is an area where you might consider an executive coach.
3) Be flexible in your methods. Be stubborn about your goals, and flexible in your methods. There are so many ways to achieve our goals. If one method doesn’t work, get creative.
4) Track your progress. Small victories add up and keep us moving forward. Keeping track of our progress helps us look at how far we’ve come or how close we are to achieving the goal.
One idea for tracking: habit chains are great for changing or developing new habits such as working out. The idea is that you keep the chain going by performing the task daily and it is motivating in that you don’t want to break the chain. There are many habit chain phone apps, or you can simply record it on a good old-fashioned calendar by checking off that day. Marking a day completed triggers a release of dopamine and that makes us feel good. I have this habit bracelet that is comprised of 21 beads which is how long research says it takes to develop a new habit.
5) Start a preliminary list of goals for next year. As you finish out your goals for this year, ideas for new goals will come to mind. Keep a list so that you have a head start on the goal-setting process.
What are your plans to finish the year strong?
Tags: Coaching, Goal Setting, Goals, Habit, Habit Chain
Originally published at peoplestrategyadvisors.com