Setting the Goal is Easy, Sticking to it? Not so much.

Sticking to our goals is tough work. Boy, oh boy, is it tough to stay focused, motivated, and inspired to achieve a goal.  There are days that try our patience.  People that divert our attention elsewhere.  Circumstances that seem to occur at just the wrong times.  That the way life goes.  


You may have made a commitment this year.  Or even this week.  A commitment to make a personal change.  A commitment to give more positive reinforcement to employees.  A commitment to manage your time more effective.  A commitment to have some of those crucial conversations you have been putting off.  


When those days, circumstances, and people interrupt your focus remember two things:
1.  Don't give up.
2.  There is nothing wrong with baby steps when it comes to change.  


It's okay to fall off the wagon, but it's not okay to stay there.  And it's okay if you can't dive right in to make a big change, a baby step in the right direction each day will eventually get you to your destination.  
Go easy on yourself when you don't succeed and get back up and try again.  

Are You Being Held Accountable?

Have you ever noticed how some people tell the whole world their New Years' resolutions and then others just keep it to themselves as if it's top secret information?  

When it comes to setting goals, some of us need a little more accountability than others.  I know for me personally, it was a lot easier to accomplish my goals when I had a boss making sure I stayed on task.  And I've also noticed that when I'm not totally committed to the possibility of achieving a goal, I tend to keep it to myself.  No sense announcing to the whole world I've failed miserably.  

The reality is we are much more successful in accomplishing our goals when we have someone keeping us accountable.  I'm going to make an assumption that if you are in a leadership position you've heard of the acronym SMART (specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-bound) when it comes to goal setting.  So let's focus on accountability of those goals.    


Whether it is a personal goal, a business goal, or a professional goal, it stands to reason that you are more likely to accomplish it if you enlist the help of others to hold you accountable.  I like to choose a like minded person that I know will not let me off the hook, no matter how angry I get at their nagging.  It's a little easier when you work for a company that has your goals tied to your annual merit increase or bonus.  Not quite so easy when it's a personal goal, professional, or business goal and your the owner.


A coach is an excellent option to keeping you on track and holding you accountable.  There are many personal and professional coaches that are willing to work with you to accomplish your dreams and goals.  


I'm going to enlist the help of each of you, my readers, to help me accomplish one of my goals this year.  I am publicly announcing in this post that I plan to blog for 365 consecutive days.  I have no idea what I can possibly write to you about every single day but I'll no doubt become a better blogger in the process.  I'm asking you to hold me accountable.  I need your support with this one because it's one of those goals that I listed above where we don't tell people because we aren't sure we can do it.  This is actually day 4 and I thought about it for a couple of weeks before even embarking on 4 consecutive days.  


If you need an accountability partner let me know.  Remember this - if you really want to accomplish your goals, make sure there is someone that will hold you accountable.