Set a timeframe for each of your goals…1 year, 2 years…5 or 15
New Year’s resolutions are an almost controversial concept. Many refuse to engage in them simply because they believe it starts the new year off in failure and disappointment and they are convinced that they’ll only just make the same resolution next year after missing the mark this year.
New Year’s resolutions, when stripped of their connection to the changing calendar, are just an exercise in goal setting. And goal setting is an extremely good habit to get into. Subconsciously or consciously, good or bad, every change you have ever made in your life started with you setting a goal to do it. As any motivational seminar or self-help book will teach you, sheer force of will is rarely enough to help you make lasting new-leaf turning change.
It’s extremely helpful to write down or journal your goals—this is where your iPad comes in really handy. With nothing more than the Notes app or even Reminders, you can set goals for yourself and maintain course to achieving them. But if you’ve never formally even set goals before, I’d like to recommend the Goal Setter Workshop app (US$3.99).
Most people aren’t even aware of their goals and thus never come close to achieving them. This app walks you through the process of really fleshing out and understanding your goals—all of them! From losing weight to owning your own home, from reading more to working less. It helps you take those “someday maybe” dreams from the corners of your mind and put them onto a timeline for the next year, two years, five years or 15. Then it gets you to commit to three goals you’ll achieve this year…2012.
Goal Setter Workshop makes sure you’ve thought about why you want this goal and gets you to identify the first step.
Right now, Goal Setter Workshop stops at guiding you through setting your goals which is a huge step in itself. There is hope that future updates to the app will also bring coaching into the process. I guess that’s a goal the developer has set—let’s see if they achieve it! I hope they do.
In the meantime, they offer recommendations to other resources to help you get leverage on yourself to make massive positive changes possible.
You can’t chart a course if you don’t know where you want to end up. Goal Setting Workshop helps you clarify what you want to achieve in your 2012.
Great Article Rick. I’ll have to get that app! It sounds very useful for goal setting!