Setting goals

Some good thoughts for the new year. Even better, don't wait for the new year. Start now. Identify what you want, and go for it.

I donated blood yesterday. The woman from the Red Cross who got the blood talked to me while my pint was collecting.

She felt she had some things out of whack in her life. Too much going to clubs, too much playing pool, among other things. She planned to start -- on New Year's -- getting her life in order.

Which is a great goal. I wished her well. But waiting is not always a good thing. We sometimes imagine that there's this big, perfect day waiting out there. So we wait for that. But -- per the Psalmist -- this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be glad and rejoice in this day. And start today doing the changes we want in our lives.

"This is perhaps THE most important habit
you can have if you want to succeed in EVERY
area of your life.

Goal Setting

It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of goal-setting
as a positive habit. It can truly be life changing!

Research studies have shown that people who regularly set goals are
far more likely to be successful then people who do not. Napoleon
Hill, author of the best-seller, Think and Grow Rich, once said,
"Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement,
and its lack is the stumbling block for ninety eight out of every
one hundred people because they never really define their goals and
start toward them."

A study was done to determine the importance of goal setting.
College students who had gone on to achieve great success in
business were asked to list their habits. The students who had made
a habit of setting goals were in the top 3% of earnings in the
population!

Goal setting is simple, yet 97% of the population never do it. By
making goal setting a habit, you can start placing yourself in
the top 3% of the population of successful people. Your goal-setting
habit can help you reach any of your goals, regardless of whether
they are for business, personal, relationships, and so on.

Here are some simple steps to help you start your goal-setting
habit:

Step 1 Define your destinations, write them down, and be very
specific; capture your goals on paper.

Step 2 Determine what the time line is for reaching your goals;
set specific deadlines for each goal.

Step 3 Identify any obstacles that may stand in your way, list
them, and state how you plan to overcome them.

Step 4 Make a list of the people and/or organizations who will
help you reach your goals."

Dan Robey