Are You Part Of This 80 Percent?

It is that time of year! It is the time that, statistically, most Americans give up on their New Year’s Resolutions. If the studies I have read are accurate, then 80 percent of those who made resolutions or set goals at the beginning of the year have given up on them by now. Can you believe that? 80 percent! If that is true of you, then I have a solution for you.

What About You?

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you probably read my posts about making this your best year ever. I went step-by-step through my own goal-setting process in an effort to help you achieve similar results to what I have experienced through this process. If you took my advice, the odds are you are still going strong with your goals for this year.

If you did not read these posts (or ignored the advice!), then it is NOT too late for you! Just because it is mid February does not mean you have to wait until next year to set some meaningful goals. I have heard many times that the best time to plant an oak tree was 10 years ago. The second best time is now!

If you are interested in breaking out of the 80 percent and starting now with your meaningful goals, then I strongly suggest you take a look at my posts that detailed my own process. If you will follow a process similar to mine, I believe you will see significant results. Feel free to tweak it a little as you need to, but I will strongly recommend you make absolutely sure you include two critical components of this process – no matter what!

Determine Key Motivations

The first component is to determine a list of Key Motivations – very specific reasons WHY each individual goal is important to you. Here is an example of one of my goals for this year and the related list of WHY’s:

Goal

I will average spending 6 hours per month intentionally teaching & mentoring others for eternal impact (total of 72 hours).

Key Motivations

• #1 – I believe God has given me wisdom and insights that I feel can help others in living out their God-given purposes.
• I get a rush from teaching others what God has shared with me!
• I learn more from the preparation than I realize at times.
• I need the learning that teaching affords me and holds me accountable to.
• I believe it is the responsibility of a leader to give back to others.
• I want to lead by example.

Messy Middle?

When you have a list of Key Motivations like this, you are strengthened against what Michael Hyatt calls the “messy middle.” This is that time in the process of achieving your goals when you get frustrated, discouraged, or otherwise lose your steam. Have you ever experienced that?

When it happens, you then refer back to these Key Motivations and remind yourself why you set the goal in the first place. Referring back to these goals should give you the injection of energy you need to return to the fight!

Accountability Partners

The second component that I strongly recommend is Step #6 in my process – Find Accountability Partners. Regardless of how strong you think you are, I promise there will be times you are tempted to give up or take a break. These times can be deadly to a set of goals unless you have built-in accountability from like-minded partners.

To maximize this component, you need to set a regular time to meet with these partners and discuss your goals. The best scenario is when they have also gone through this process and have goals of their own. You all should meet, discuss your wins, and exchange ideas about how to deal with the challenges or obstacles you each are facing. I cannot adequately describe the value this adds to your overall goals process.

Break Out of the 80 Percent!

Here’s the deal – whether you are just now starting your goal-setting process for the year OR looking to tweak it and get it back on track, these components must be included. If you will do this, I guarantee you will break out of the 80 percent and see results you have never seen before. I have personally seen the benefits of these components and will never go without them again.

Are you part of the 80 percent? Why do you think?

What next action are you ready to take with your goals?

What is the biggest challenge you face in achieving your goals?

photo by Will Wilson