Almost by definition, New Year’s resolutions get broken within days after they’re made. It’s ironic because the actual definition of a resolution would indicate that resolutions would be kept.
And yet, people are notoriously bad at keeping resolutions. One of the most obvious and common resolutions is to be healthy and lose weight. We know this from the surge in gym memberships — yet so few people consistently make it past the gym parking lot and through the front doors.
Of course, goals and resolutions are just about the same things. Except resolutions seems to be synonymous with being broken.
So, for the purposes of our discussion, I’d like to talk about setting goals for the new year.
That’s because all peak performers set goals — and so should you.
Every Top Performer Sets Goals
Whether it’s an Olympic athlete or a fortune 500 executive, they know exactly what their goals are. And it’s likely that they write them down. Did you know that people are significantly more likely to reach their goals if they write them down?
There’s an often-quoted supposed myth that 3% of Harvard Business Graduates who wrote down their goals earned 10x the remaining 97% of their classmates. While there doesn’t seem to be evidence that that’s actually the case, the myth prevails over decades because of the moral the story tells.
Write down your goals and you WILL succeed.
Or at the very least, you’re far more likely to succeed.
After years of successfully achieving many of my goals, I absolutely subscribe to that theory. Plus, there are plenty of reputable studies advocating for the benefits of goal-setting and writing them down as a way of committing to them. When you write down your goals, they become intentional.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you may know I’m a big list maker. Each year, I set goals for myself and I encourage my readers to do the same.
Break up and organize your goals.
In addition, try breaking up your goals into monthly, weekly and daily to-do’s as a constant reminder. It will help you move closer to realizing them.
If possible, think of one goal for each area of your life:
- Health
- Family
- Spirituality
- Financial
- Professional / work
6 Goals Declared Publicly, For All to See
If you declare your goals publicly, you’re more likely to fulfill them due to peer pressure and fear of embarrassment of not fulfilling them.
With that said, here are six of my top goals for 2021.
- Laugh and play with my kids for at least 30 minutes a day.
- Exercise at least five times per week and make healthy eating choices every day.
- Help hundreds of development directors increase their major gift skills, confidence, and results through Mastering Major Gifts by making it the best program and community it can possibly be.
- Empower hundreds of nonprofit leaders to run successful capital campaigns through the Capital Campaign Toolkit’s programs and services. Check out this 4-minute video demo of how we do this.
- Volunteer with my children for at least 50 hours and give back 10% or more to causes I care about.
- Invest 5% or more in retirement funds.
I keep these goals in a journal on my nightstand and review them daily as a reminder to myself for the next day. Then, I integrate some aspects of them into the next day’s to-do list.
Let’s Work Together to Achieve Our Goals in 2021
If you want to help me achieve my goals — and help yourself in the process — register for Mastering Major Gifts today. And, if you’re considering a capital campaign, visit the Capital Campaign Toolkit site and find out how you can be part of our support system (and it is a support system — not your traditional campaign consulting model).
Will you declare your goals publicly for all to see? Share them in the comments below.
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