P-L-E-A-S-E - Not another New Year resolution! Part 2

Last week I started on the steps you could take to make sure your new year resolution is not just a pointless exercise. Let’s look at other things that could help.

• Think More Of Goals One of the reasons resolutions fail is that they are mostly a wish list. Goals, if properly conceived and sincerely desired, come with an action plan. ‘You don’t just decide to do something (or stop doing something), you plan how and when you will achieve the goal’.
It’s therefore important that it’s not a list speedily conjured on December 31. So run your goals for 2012 through the ‘SMART’ test. One very important aspect of SMART is the ‘R’ (Realistic). Drawing up an action plan will help you see how achievable your plans are.

There’s no point setting yourself up to fail. If you set an unreasonable target, you will get discouraged and frustrated if you can’t meet it.
For example, if your resolution/goal is to save 50% of your monthly  income every month in 2012, is that really’ A’(Achievable) considering your obligatory expenses- rent/mortgage, children’s school fees, food, travel cost( petrol, train, bus ), tax e.t.c.?
• Don’t Do It On Your Own – There are two major reasons why it is necessary to have a support network when you are taking up a change or self improvement. First is that it could be a lonely experience.

If for example, your goal is to increase your grades in college, you may have to reset your priorities which might include hanging out less with your mates, earning you the label of ‘effico’, ‘geek’ or ‘bookworm.

Loneliness, coupled with pain, struggle, fear and worry could make you feel all by yourself. One way out is to find a group of like minds who are going same way with you. It doesn’t have to be all boring, after all there is a saying that ‘all work without play makes Jake a dull boy’, but you can support each other create the necessary balance.

The second reason why not to do it alone, is the importance of accountability. As a professional performance coach, this is an important part of what I do with my clients. As we work together on their goals and develop a game plan, there’s need to support them keep to it.
I challenge and give them constructive feedback on all their action and inaction.  So as an accountability partner, I support them keep focus and stay on track.

In conclusion, the following are good questions to ask yourself as you start to put together your 2012 ‘resolution’:
• Where am I going
• Why am I going there?
• Who is going with me?
• How will I get there, How will I know when I am there?

Gbonju is a UK based certified professional Personal/Small Business Performance Coach, trainer and International Speaker.  She qualifies through the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD) and the Coaching Academy. For more information on how you or your organisation can benefit from her services, visit www.peakpeopledevelopers.com or email gbonju@peakpeopledevelopers.com

Edited By GABRIELLA OSAMOR