It is the 3rd of January and most of you may have already broke your New Year’s Resolutions. I am not trying to be negative or a Debbie Downer but the reality is, most people who set New Year’s Resolutions never see them through more than a few weeks. The reason I believe is simple. You see, when you set a resolution you only have one part of the equation and are missing the second and most powerful part to making the resolution stick. Today, I will give you the second part of the equation and this time around setting a New Year’s resolution will not be a waste of time.

Several years ago I decided that I was done setting New Year’s resolutions. I came to the realization that I, like everyone else, fall into the same trap and dismal disappointment of falling back into my bad habits. This got me thinking to myself, why is it that some people seem to have more success than others when it comes to achieving something that they set out to do. Well, being that I love to study successful people I came to the conclusion that, successful people do not set resolutions but set high goals for themselves. Now, you may be saying to yourself, “what is the difference between a New Year’s resolution and a goal?” Well, this is where the second part of the equation comes in. Goals typically have a “why” behind it, as where resolutions, in my opinion only have a “need to stop doing something” in it. Sure, you want to quit eating out to lose weight, but why do you want to lose weight? By defining “why”, you give yourself a strong reason for changing a behavior. I know you still are saying, “well I had that in my head as the reason for my resolution.” Good, but goals need to be written down and need to be set up in such a way that you have it specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (S.M.A.R.T Goals).

Now if you have bought into my theory of setting goals,instead of resolutions, here is what I want you to do next.

First, I want you to write down ten things you want to accomplish this year.
Second, I want you to write down below it why you want to accomplish it.
Finally, set a time table as to when to accomplish it.

I will be sharing with you some of my 2011 goals this week. Until then, get rid of the theory of setting New Year’s resolutions and start setting up S.M.A.R.T goals for this upcoming year!

To your Success,
Coach Dave