Getting to Goal: I Love It When a Plan Comes Together!

It is my favorite time of the year! So this four-week series will focus on how to create and achieve Golden Goals ... goals you can't wait to accomplish!

Once you have selected two to three Golden Goals, you are on your way, but you aren't there yet. A goal without a plan is a resolution and, well, you know how those normally go! You need a plan and you need to do build success into that plan.

Building success is a S.N.A.P!

When planning for your goal, you goal should be ...

Specific: How much do you want to save? What debts do you want to eliminate and how much is each debt. How much weight do you want to lose? What do you want to major in when you go back to school? Be detailed and be specific. If you don't know what your target is, how will you know when you have hit it?

Necessary: List as many reasons you can as to why you must achieve this goal. These should be your reasons, not anyone else's. They should be able to keep you moving towards your goal when you get tired or experience a setback.

Assistance: No man is an island and no one achieves success in a vacuum. Who will help you reach your goal? Be prepared to ask the people you list to support you and tell them how you want them to do that. You might want someone to help you prepare a budget or a buddy to walk with in the evenings. Pick your team based on people's strengths and what you need from them.

Plan B: What are the most common obstacles you'll face? Now, how can you overcome them? What will you do to get back on track when you fall off? Many people list losing weight as a goal, but at some point, you'll reach for that Krispy Kreme donut (or three) and you'll roll over and/or you'll choose television over the treadmill. It's going to happen. When it does, recognize that it isn't failure, it's life. So be prepared and have a Plan B.

Assignment: Take your Golden Goals and use the S.N.A.P. method to make them specific and necessary. Figure out who you will go to for assistance and make your Plan Bs for the most common pitfalls you'll encounter.

Next Week: The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step (and then another, and another, ...)

I love goal-setting so much, I took a two-hour workskop I did on goal-setting and put it into a short workbook. Getting to Goal: Your Dreams, Your Desires, Your Way walks you through a holistic goal-setting process. When you are done, you will have two to three Golden Goals selected and a comprehensive plan for achieving them. Available on Kindle for $1.99 and in paperback for 6.99.