Many of you already know how I got my nickname. It was given to me by a business partner who was frustrated that he couldn’t turn his dreams into reality the way he said I seemed to do. He started calling me the “dream catcher”. He actually bought me a few real dream catchers, and several friends have followed the tradition and now I have them all over my bedroom. He asked me to share with him how I create an action plan to chase down my goals and make them reality. A few readers have asked me for similar advice on this blog, so I decided that with New Years’ approaching—this was the time to do it.
So, you have a goal. A big goal that means a lot to you. It’s so important to you that you can taste your desire for it on your tongue. But why does it seem that every time you set out after it with a new found resolve that it continues to slip through your fingertips?
New Years is the time when many people set long term goals.
As we all know, far too many people ever reach these goals. The fact is, most people have given up on them by March 1st. The proof is easily visible by taking a trip to your local gym on January 3. You may need to crowd surf to get into line for the treadmill you want to use. Two months later the military could come in and use the same room for artillery practice during gym hours and not worry about hitting anyone. Why is this the case?
Well, there are a few things that keep people from achieving long term goals. The big one is that the goals they set are not specific enough. For example: I want to lose some weight this year. Too vague. Goals need specificity.
Some goals need to be broken down. “I want to lose twenty to thirty pounds” is a more specific goal but still not very good because ranges are not a good way to set a goal. The goal must be very specific, which means it must be measurable, and there must be a drop dead date on it. I am going to lose 26 pounds by December 31, 2018 at 11:59 PM is a strong goal. It is very specific and extremely easy to measure. It should be written down in a place where it gets in the way, taped in front of your face would be good, but if that’s not possible, then on a computer screen, on a mirror, refrigerator etc. Definitely tape it on top of the ice cream!
Another mistake people make is they fail to break the goal down into bite sized pieces. Trying to eat an elephant in one big bite is impossible. Trying to climb Mount Everest in an hour is never going to happen. Long term goals are not very motivational, because they lose their luster after a few days or weeks. Why? Because the long term goal still seems light years away when only a few steps have been taken. It just seems too hard to get there—and people give up.
So, it turns into a situation where people jump on the treadmill to start losing that “30 pounds” and after a week they have only lost a half pound. They feel like they have put in a ton of work and sweat equity and are frustrated that the results aren’t immediate.
The key to good goal setting is to create what I call “checkpoints” along the way. Checkpoints should range from a daily goal to a 14 day goal. No longer than two weeks. Most people do best with weekly goals, but some may even need to break it down into daily milestones. Anyone can lose a half a pound in a week. If that is your goal, it is very manageable as long as you don’t skip any of the check points along the way.
I have found that having an accountability partner helps a lot of people stay on track for their short term goals. Have this person call you daily to check in even if just for five minutes.
Journaling every day about your checkpoint goals can also be beneficial to staying on track.
The last step is 100% mentally committing to the goal and expecting success. Sit down and write a journal entry in the present tense as if it is already December 31, 2018. Write about what you have accomplished, and once again be specific. Talk about how it feels, how it has changed your life, and how others see you differently and in a more positive light.
Finally, make sure you write a goal statement. Write this statement using phrases like “I will” and “I expect” rather than “I hope to” or “I’m going to try.” Use this blueprint to tackle your goals in 2018. Dreams really do become reality, you just have to know how to catch them. I have just given you the juice of the road runner. Now go make it happen and stop talking about it.
Cheers,
The Dream Catcher
