How to realistically achieve your goals in 2018

What I used to do and why It was not working

I used to be so bad at making New Year’s resolution, but after multiple years of trial and error, I finally find a system that works for me. Like a majority of the people, I used to make a list of them every year. However, in the middle of the year, I would lose track of them, ignore them, and get discouraged to keep up. Finally, I would give up and go by my business, “freestyling my way into the year”. Below are the reasons I used to fail.

1. Making a big list without separating them into categories.
2. Overestimating what I could do, which made me feel bad for not achieving many things on the list.
3. Sometimes, I did not even write them and went by what was in my mind. Big mistake. Learn to think on paper. Write them down.
4. Lack of constant evaluation throughout the whole year. If you want to lose 20 lbs in 12 months. But in June, you have not lost a pound, you are lying to yourself. Evaluate monthly or quarterly and make adjustments.

I have learned to divide my goals into categories. It makes it easier for me to track them throughout the year. I have about 5 categories:

Professional goals

I want to get better at work.

Be more efficient and effective.

Be more valuable to the marketplace ( my employer and my clients).

Finance goals

Staying on on top of my finances.

Pay my bills and debts on time.

Spend moderately. Save and invest the surplus.

Family ( Relationship ) goals

I am engaged now. So, I wanna be the best partner that my fiancee can ever have. Constantly learning about her “love language(s)” and doing what makes her happy and avoiding what makes her angry at all cost.

Fitness goals ( physical and mental health)

Making sure I stay physically and mentally strong.

Live a well-balanced life with less stress.

Extra-Curricular goals ( Adventures)

These are usually my traveling goals. Places I wanted to visit. This year, I have got Croatia, Switzerland, Seychelles, and Morocco.

Keep learning by reading, writing and blogging along with other stuff that makes me happy as a person. Mentoring other young people and helping out in my community.

How To have a good chance at achieving your goals;

1. Make your goals be SMART. S-specific; M-Measured; A-Attainable; R-Realistic, and T-Timely.
   1. These goals have to be your own goals ( ownership). They cannot your brothers or sisters, or even your wife’s. If they are family goals, everybody has to make them their own and do their part.
   2. They have to be in writing. If they are not written down, it will make it hard to remember and evaluate them on a regular basis.
   3. Make them measured, specific, and have a time limit.
      1. I want to lose weight this year: FALSE. Specify how much weight, in what time, and make a solid plan.
      2. I want to lose 20 lbs in one year. This means that you can strive to lose about 2.0 lbs each month or 5.0 lbs in a quarter. Go step by step.

Making your goals “SMART” and staying accountable along the way will help you achieve them. You have to stay engaged and constantly evaluating as weeks and months go by.

Best of luck!

Below is a good summary of some of my 2018 goals: Going #beastmode.

1. Focus-Focus-Focus: on my goals and purpose in life. Avoid distractions at all cost.
2. Keep learning by reading and writing.
3. Provide the best content to my friends and followers.
4. Provide more value to my clients than I get paid for.
5. Make small improvements every day.
6. Self-evaluation about my progress ( monthly and quarterly).
7. Stay on top of my finances ( Weekly assessment of my cash flow).
8. Reach out to more people: provide quality advice and ask for help when I need some.
9. Reach one million views on my #Quora answers.
Focusing on quality and not quantity.
Grow my network on my personal website and medium .
10. Be a good leader: Inspire, motivate, and lead by example.

Hope this helps. Wish me luck!

Didier Champion