Gem #3: Are you achieving the goals you set for yourself?

Are you achieving the goals you set for yourself?

USA Today reported that January 21st is the most depressing day of the year (based on the high volume of anti-depressant website hits that day). It shouldn’t surprise us as to why:  since it takes 21 days to form or break a habit, it would make sense that all of those great New Years resolutions have gone by the wayside by January 21st. As Bill Murray once said (in the movie Stripes) after losing his job, his car, his girlfriend and his pizza: “and then, depression set in.”

It’s one thing to set some goals for yourself, but another to make them stick. The key is having a solid accountability strategy to support your goals.  Here are some accountability strategies to consider:

• Share your goals with friends, family and business associates. The more people who know your goals, the more people you are letting down when you don’t attain them—nothing like a little guilt to light a fire under you.
  
  
• Consider journaling as an accountability strategy.  At the end of each day chronicle how you spent your time. If one of your goals is more effective time management, you will get a good idea of what is getting in the way of your spending time on the right activities.
  
  
• Scrutinize your goals to ensure they meet the standard of the widely accepted acronym: S.M.A.R.T.  In other words, are your goals Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Timebound?
  
  
• Create an Accountability Team, a team of people all focused on attaining their respective goals and committed to holding you accountable as well.  A brief meeting with your accountability team every few weeks will make a difference. Consider this: those people participating in Weight Watchers who attend the weekly weigh-ins lose significantly more weight then those who go it alone.

Also remember this: studies show that top performers achieve only 50% of their goals.  So, don’t be discouraged if you don’t meet or exceed every goal. We live in an impatient society so each time we try something different we expect immediate results. Be patient, focus on those goals that are important to you, and then put the right accountability strategy in place.

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