Your Need To Know

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable New Year’s Holiday. I also hope everyone has made their New Year’s Resolutions, written them down, and devised a plan to achieve them. Even if you yet have no plan, don’t let these resolutions get away.  Make them your goals and resolve to achieve them. Don’t Quit!

The great trajedy that many people have is to not follow through or not complete something they started.  People are happiest when they achieve a goal.  We have a built-in need to achieve and the rewards are great.  Don’t Quit!

Don’t Quit
When things go wrong as they sometimes will.
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill.
When funds are low and the debts are high.
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst that you must not QUIT.

50 Ways to Reach Your Goals

One of the primary factors of a happy, fulfilled life is a strong foundation of personal achievement.  Of all the joys life has to offer, nothing quite beats the self-affirming thrill of setting out for and attaining our heart’s desire. There is a deep seated, instinctive need in the emotional make-up of human beings to chase after whatever makes them happiest – so much so that the founders of America placed the freedom to do just that as one of the basic and inalienable rights of all mankind – part of the definition of what it means to live a truly free and worthwhile life.   (Excerpt from 50 Ways to Reach Your Goals by Soni Pitts)

Download this e-book HERE.  It is full of  useful information  and tips to help you along the way.  And remember: It’s never too late to be who you might have been.

Gina

Ah, those dumb New Year’s Resolutions.  Most are made just for the sake of making them and are doomed from the beginning.

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions.  ~Joey Adams

New Year’s Day:  Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions.  Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.  ~Mark Twain

This is so true.  We make them and break them.  New Year’s Resolutions were made to be broken.  And there are hundreds of New Years quotes that poke fun at this phenomenon.  (See also Don’t Make Those Resolutions)

Now, I apologize to all of those who have more resolve then most, and are able to consistently keep and achieve their resolutions.  I congratulate you.   But for the majority, this is not the case.
What’s the key?  What’s the difference between these people and so many others?

He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool. ~F.M. Knowles

Could it be these people are goal setters and treat their resolutions like goals to be believed and achieved?  How do we make our well-intended New Year’s resolutions a reality in our lives?  We turn them into goals.  We just need to do the things that differentiate resolutions from goals.

First, you must know what it is you really want.  Don’t make resolutions just for the sake of having them.  Don’t say you are going to do or accomplish something just because it seems like the right thing to do.  Or just because you feel like you should.  Make sure it is something you really want to do.  You have to have that mindset.

A very good example is a bad habit or addiction.  Habits can be very strong, but not nearly as powerful as the human mind.  If you decide to quit a habit because it is no longer socially acceptable, is politically incorrect, or you know it is destroying your health or relationships, but you really enjoy it, you will likely never prevail.  On the other hand, if you have made up your mind to quit because it is something you really want, then it is much easier.  So, make sure whatever it is you resolve to do is something you really want.

Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.  ~Oscar Wilde

Then we turn these things into goals.  We just need to do the things that differentiate resolutions from goals.  We start by writing them down, setting a deadline, and making a plan.  (See 7 Steps For Setting and Achieving Your Goals)

We all have a human need to feel that we are moving forward and making accomplishments.  For me, not having that feeling of accomplishment leaves a void in my life.  And we all know that goal-setters are the greatest at accomplishment.  Enjoy your feelings of accomplishment.  Make your New Years Resolutions Goals and go for them.

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.  ~Oprah Winfrey

Happy New Year and may all your dreams and goals come to pass.

Gina

Technorati Tags: New Years Resolutions, New Year Quotes

The number one reason some people get more work done faster is because they are absolutely clear about their goals and objectives and they don’t deviate from them. Here is a great rule for success: Think on paper.

Only about 3% of adults have clear, written goals. These people accomplish five and ten times as much as people of equal or better education and ability, but who have never taken the time to write out exactly what it is they want.

There’s a powerful formula for setting and achieving goals that you can use for the rest of your life. It consists of seven simple steps. Taking any one of these steps can double or triple your productivity if you’re not currently using it. Many people have increased their incomes dramatically in a matter of a few years, or even a few months, with this simple, seven-step method.

Step 1: Decide exactly what you want. It’s amazing how many people are working away, day after day, on low-value tasks because they’ve not decided what they want.

Step 2: Write it down. Think on paper. When you write down your goal, you crystallize it and give it tangible form. You create something that you can touch and see. On the other hand, a goal or objective that’s not in writing is merely a wish or fantasy. It has no energy behind it. Unwritten goals lead to confusion, vagueness, misdirection and numerous mistakes.

Step 3: Set a deadline with your goal. A goal or decision without a deadline has no urgency. It has no real beginning or end. Without a definite deadline, you’ll naturally procrastinate and get little done.

Step 4: Make a list of everything you can think of that you’re going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new activities, add them to your list. Keep building your list until it is complete. A list gives you a visual picture of the larger objective. It dramatically increases the likelihood that you’ll achieve your goals as you have defined it and on schedule.

Step 5: Organize your list into a plan. Organize your list by priority and sequence. Take a few minutes to decide what you need to do first and what you can do later. Even better, lay out your plan visually, in the form of a series of boxes and circles on a sheet of paper. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to achieve your goal when you break it down into individual tasks. With a written goal and an organized plan of action, you’ll be far more productive than someone who’s carrying his goals in his mind.

Step 6: Take action on your plan immediately. An average plan vigorously executed is far better than a brilliant plan on which nothing is done. For you to achieve anykind of success, execution is everything.

Step 7: Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal. Read a specific number of pages on a key subject. Call on a specific number ofprospects or customers. Engage in a specific period of physical exercise. Learn a certain number of new words in a foreign language. Never miss a day. Keep pushing forward. Once you start moving, keep moving. Don’t stop.

This decision, this discipline alone, can make you one of the most productive and successful people of your generation. Clear written goals have a wonderful effect on your thinking. They motivate you and galvanize you into action. Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement. The bigger your goals and the clearer they are, the more excited you become about achieving your goals, the greater becomes your inner drive and desire to accomplish them.

Gina