How To Make Your Goals a Reality in 2021
It’s fair to say that 2020 wasn’t the year we expected, and a lot of our plans and goals were derailed by outside forces. Like it or not, the current situation isn’t looking like it’s going to be short term, so it’s time to stop using pandemic restrictions as an excuse to not go for your personal goals.
It’s human nature to make excuses, so firstly, be compassionate with yourself. The phrase “unprecedented times” must be one of the most overused of the last year, but we’ve had time to adjust now.
If you made excuses, delayed your goals, then that’s understandable, but there’s a terrifying statistic that when we put off change and tackling goals, it sets us up for almost certain failure. In fact some research puts the chances of failure as high as 93% when we consistently delay going for what we want.
Less than 10% of us stick to our New Year’s resolutions
Listen, if you’re serious about making change in any area of your life, it’s never about tomorrow.
It’s about the choices you make now and day to day that really count.
We’re conditioned to believe that we should be taking huge leaps forward, that overnight success could be just around the corner. That is so rarely the case. Real success in anything comes from taking consistent steps taken every day. Persistence and consistence wins the day.
When we expect big results in super fast time from anything, we’re priming ourselves for disappointment, which in turn makes us less likely to be bold in the future.
Success comes from responsibility for our decisions, our actions, our thoughts
and our beliefs. Once we can accept that, we can change them to allow ourselves to move forward.
One big lesson from the last year is that we have the power to CHOOSE how we think about and react to everything. There is so much out of our control and our job is how to choose we react to external factors, and focus on the things we can change.
When we focus on what’s within our control, it’s amazing how empowered we become, regardless of what else is going on in the world.
So, have a think about 2020…
Did I achieve my goals? What worked well? What didn’t work for me? What do I want to accomplish this year?
Often in life we’ll overestimate the cost of failure, underestimate the value of success and completely disregard the opportunity cost of staying stuck where we are.
Imagine your life 6 months or a year from now. What if nothing changes? Your body, your health, your work, relationships, how you spend your time, your finances…
How would that make you feel?
Here are some tips to help you achieve your goals in 2021:
• Don’t try to do too much. Get clear on one major realistic goal you’d love to achieve (when we have a goal with an emotional attachment which much more likely to succeed)
• Break that goal down into smaller steps. Too often the scale of the task can overwhelm us. Instead break the big goal down into chunks you can achieve in two weeks.
• Next, plan and prioritise how and when you’re going to achieve it. Too many people get as far as breaking it down but then fail to actually plan the time into their schedule to achieve the steps.
• Do the mental reps to bring your mind on board. Spend time each week visualising your goals and connecting with the emotion of achieving it. Celebrate the small wins, and use affirmations that support your beliefs in achieving what you’ve set out to do.
• Get accountability. Either a friend, a group, a coach or a mentor. Someone that can support and guide you when the going gets tough, that you feel you need to show up for, that’s invested in your journey.
• Give yourself permission. This might sound strange but many of us don’t actually give ourselves permission to go for our goals. Failing to do this can show up in prioritising others first and putting our dreams on the back burner.
• Have fun. It needs to be enjoyable. Keep the destination in mind but enjoy the journey.