Why Goal Setting Works and New Year Resolutions Don't

I find that I'm in the minority amongst coaches. Just about every newsletter I've received lately talks about setting goals for 2008. Mine doesn't, and I'll tell you why. Setting goals for 2008 is just another way of making new year Resolutions. Everyone starts off with great intentions and enthusiasm.

But I wonder where they'll be in February?

The problem with new year Resolutions, as I see it, is the level of emotion involved (and possibly the level of alcohol!). People believe that a new year is like a new slate or new chapter in their lives. Let's do things differently! Then, as they try to do whatever they want to do differently, their past life catches up with them and they realise that they can't discard the previous year so easily. Old habits die hard - and old habits are so much more comfortable to live with! Oh well, there's always next new year to try again.

Setting goals at any time of year, both for me and for my coaching clients too, involves a lot of questioning. I want to know WHY they want to make changes, WHAT they want to achieve (and why, again). I want them to start living their lives as if they have already reached their goals. We also work back from that achievement to the steps they need to take right now to be moving towards their goal.

OK, so there is emotion involved in both situations, but the main difference is that, not only is there an intention, there is also a plan to follow. The other big difference is that, with goal setting, you don't set off until you're ready to do so.

In December 2005 I announced my goal of giving up smoking in 2007. People thought I'd failed because I didn't give up on 1 January - but I didn't say that. On 30 May I smoked my last cigarette - and I haven't had a puff since. I'm very proud of myself but I know I still need to be vigilant!

The point I'm making is that the time has to be right for you when you're pursuing a big goal. Having the extra pressure of the date being set for you can make it needlessly more difficult to achieve that goal.

A bit more about Goal Setting

As you might imagine, I subscribe to lots of blogs and newsletters. I like to make sure I’m on top of the latest coaching techniques and business ideas, so that I can pass them straight on to my business coaching clients.

Yesterday, I wrote about setting goals for the month. I was reminded in a newsletter of the importance of checking that the goals are truly yours. In other words, are you doing this for yourself (because you really, really want to) or could you be doing them for someone else?

You’ll know what the answer is. If the goal is someone else’s, you will feel a bit uncomfortable. You certainly won’t feel excited by it. If, on the other hand, it’s your goal, you will feel very excited and inspired by it.

Are you excited by your goals?

The Heat is Off

I think last weekend saw the last of our brief but welcome Indian Summer. It was wet and blustery overnight and this morning and the forecast is for temperatures to drop quite significantly over the next few days. And it was dark when I walked into the village this morning to get my newspaper!

On the whole, I quite like the autumn and don’t mind the days getting shorter. I enjoy shutting out the world and curling up with a good book – and I don’t feel guilty about doing that if the weather isn’t too great.

In terms of business, a lot of people I’ve met at the recently revived post-summer networking groups have set themselves some very ambitious goals. It’s not only January that spurs business owners on to plan, September has that effect too. They both feel like fresh starts.

Goals can be set at any time of year and, importantly, they can be tweaked and adjusted at any time. Some people think that, once you set a goal, it’s set in concrete. But that’s not true. You can change them, because circumstances change, your business needs change. It’s about recognising that the original goal doesn’t quite serve the purpose you want it to and making the necessary changes.

What goals have you made that need revisiting, and possibly changing?