Day 5: Combining Resolutions with Good Goals Is the Key to Long-Term Success

Okay, we’ve talked about the difference between goals and resolutions, right? The distinction is important when it comes to moving onward in our challenge. You’ve learned that a resolution is an idea or promise to yourself. Goals are the steps you’ll take to make that promise a reality.  A resolution is ongoing while a goal has an end point. Combining resolutions with goal setting is the key to finding long-term success. Let’s take a look at how this combination works.

Define Your Goals

We’ll start at the beginning. You need to clearly define the goals that will support your resolution. It’s okay for your resolution to be abstract. Let’s go with the standard “I want to earn more.” We know how that’s kind of a vague statement and it’s likely to fail.  Good thing you can beat the trap of resolution failure by defining goals. These could include the number of words you’ll write, the number of books you’ll publish, and your marketing efforts. These goals are clear and specific. You can measure them and they have an endpoint. Just because they end doesn’t mean they can’t be revised.

Make a Plan

Okay, we’ve defined goals, now it’s time to plan how to achieve them.  In future posts I’ll discuss some hard-core strategies for making the most of your goal setting. For now, just know you’ll need a plan if you want to keep your motivation high as you work toward your goals. Your plan should involve things like how you’ll measure your success, when you’ll check your progress, who you might need to ask for help, and how you will know you’ve reached your goal.  Practical examples include tracking your word count and recording them on a daily or weekly basis or plotting your income on a graph.

Follow These Tips

In addition, there are some general guidelines that can help you as you begin the process of creating yur resolutions.  Be patient! Achieving change doesn’t happen at the snap of your fingers. Cut yourself some slack if you mess up. Simply get back on track as soon as you can.  You also remember that it’s not “all or nothing.” Every tiny step you take is progress. Period. Finally, while it’s imp9ortant to be realistic, you don’t want to avoid challenge. Celebrate your milestones. Every hurdle you clear is a reason to be proud of yourself and motivate you to move onto your next goal.

This is how you combine resolutions and goals to reach your desired achievements. Moving forward with firm purpose in life is what this challenge is all about. I hope you’re beginning to see that these things are possible.

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