6 Ways To Make Your 2010 Goals Stick

Posted by Grant on January 11, 2010 – 7:45 am

If you’re like most people, late on December 31st you came up with your mental list of a few “resolutions” you wanted to keep for 2010. And if you’re like most people, now that we’re 11 days into the year, you’ve probably already thrown in the towel.

Why do we do that? Because resolutions don’t stick. Goals do.

One of my goals for this new year is to run a half-marathon. I’m not some avid runner by any means, but I do want to stay in shape, so it seems like a solid goal to shoot for. So here are 6 things I’ve done to help make this goal stick for 2010…

Write It Down – Don’t leave it floating around your brain. You’ll forget it. Get a piece a paper, write it down, and stick it someplace where you’ll see it everyday. Your pillow, your mirror, that cute guy you stare at everyday (you’re stalking him anyway, you may as well accomplish a goal in the process!). I typed out my goals for 2010 and have them printed out and on my desk.
Make It Specific – Lose weight. Earn more money. Make better grades. Those are all good goals, but how do you know if you’ve accomplished them? For me, I could have set my goal as simply: run. But I wanted to make it specific: run a half-marathon. You should be able to tell if you accomplished the goal or not.
Set A Deadline – Are you going to accomplish that goal this year or could you push yourself a little more and accomplish in the next 60 days? The less time you give yourself to accomplish the goal, the more focused you’ll be on making it happen.
Tell The World – By simply sharing my goal to run a half-marathon, I feel like I’m really committing to it. Why? Because I’d look like a loser if I don’t do it. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Announce it on Facebook. Let the world know you mean business.
Make An Investment – Don’t waste money, but if you’re serious in accomplishing your goal, you’ll invest a few shekels in yourself. For me, I registered and paid for my entry into a half-marathon in Chicago. The best part: it’s non-refundable. What is it for you? Buy a book. Buy a domain name. Sign up for classes.
Be Held Accountable – It’s one thing to tell the world, but take it a step further and have someone hold you accountable. For me, I’m running the half-marathon with my brother-in-law. We’ve both signed up so not only do we not want to disappoint ourselves, but we don’t want to let the other one down.