Where will you be this time next year

There’s a lot of talk about the new year at this time of the year.  We find ourselves only a few days away from the turning of the calendar.  In fact, my husband right now it doing his yearly ritual of taking the old calendar and transferring all the “dates to remember” to the new one.

Where will you be this time next year?

As he sits outside on this mild day I can hear the Christmas carols softly playing.  It’s really 3 days after Christmas, but we are having our Christmas with our son and his family today.  We’ve stretched out the Holidays longer than we ever have.  I guess that’s one of the benefits of having  a small family!

I’ve been reading lots of blogs and posts on Facebook about the new year.  And goals.

I’ll admit that last year I really didn’t set too many goals.  I had an online Branding (Marketing) class I was committed to and that was really all I was holding myself to.  We had the surprise of my mom’s stroke at the end of 2012 so I knew 2013 was going to be a little different.

And it was.

Setting Goals

Unfortunately, I’ve been wallowing in too much “self pity” and the “what if’s” the past few days. Why didn’t I pursue the healthier living?  Now I’m another year behind.  Why didn’t I pursue my dream of a home business with more gusto?  I may could have been in a better position to make some changes next year. Ugh. I got stuck in the “rat race mentality” like a hamster on one of those crazy wheels going round and round!

So, today while scanning real quick through Facebook (in between cookie batches) I read a post on our group Facebook page by my upline and sponsor about setting goals for 2014.  This lady is a phenomenal person when it comes to setting goals, tracking actions to reach those goals, adjusting actions to meet the goals..get my point?  She is a GOALS woman and I’m so fortunate to know her!

I quickly adjusted my thinking today and quit pondering on the  past.  It’s gone and down the drain so as the old timers used to say “no crying over spilled milk”.

It’s time to set some new goals for 2014!

What’s your favorite Goal Setting plan?  Do you just list them all out and “try” or do you make a detailed plan?

I’m a fan of the “detailed plan”.  When I approach a goal with that plan I know I have a much greater chance of success than just the “hit/miss/try”.

I call my detailed plan my “bulls eye” plan.
1. Set the Goal
2. Break the goal into 3 mini goals
3. Set 3 actions per mini goal that need to happen in order to achieve success.

Setting Goals Outline

So, your outline would look like this:

Goal ___________________
Mini Goal 1 _____________
Action 1 ________________
Action 2 ________________
Action 3 ________________

Mini Goal 2 _____________
Action 1 ________________
Action 2 ________________
Action 3 ________________

Mini Goal 3 _____________
Action 1 ________________
Action 2 ________________
Action 3 ________________

Let’s apply this to a goal and let’s use one that almost everyone uses. Lose weight. But, here’s the deal. Your key to setting good goals it make them specific. How many pounds? Let’s go for 30 pounds.

Goal _ Lose 30 pounds_
Mini Goal 1 _ Lose first 10 pounds-
Action 1 __Eat 5 servings of veggies a day___
Action 2 __No more bread except on the weekend__
Action 3 __Walk 1400 Steps, 5 days a week___

Mini Goal 2 _ Lose second set of 10 pounds-
Action 1 __Eat 7 servings of veggies/fruits a day___
Action 2 __No more bread except on Sunday__
Action 3 __Walk 1800 Steps, 5 days a week___

Mini Goal 3 _ Lose third set of 10 pounds-
Action 1 __Eat 7 servings of veggies/fruits a day___
Action 2 __No more bread and drink 64 oz of water a day__
Action 3 __Walk 1800 Steps, 5 days a week___

This is just an example of how you break that big goal into manageable goals and zero down into the success of reaching the goal, hitting the bulls eye!

Hopefully, you’ll be ready to tackle a couple of new goals this year and make 2014 a year for YOU!

Hugs and feathers from the nest~~()~~

Kim Steadman is the COOP (Chief Online Operating Person) for The Re-Feathered Nest. A place of encouragement for moms entering the Empty Nest Zone who find they need to RePurpose and ReDesign their lives now that the kids have flown the coop. Kim can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheRefeatheredNest and on Google+ at +Kim.