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You are here: Home / Archives for specific and measurable goals

Questioning Your Way to Success

July 22, 2020 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

 

Being a professional in the goal-setting field, I find it fascinating to witness some of the machinations we will go through to achieve our objectives.

There are countless apps designed to help one achieve goals, ranging from diet and exercise to being more organized, to simply uplifting one’s mood. For those less inclined to make change via an app, I’ve heard of some who journal, use to-do lists, or even pray and meditate on the desired outcomes. Of course, hiring a coach helps too. (Hint, hint…)

I am not judging any technique. If you’re dedicated to your goals and willing to do the work, however, you choose it, more power to you – especially in this ever-stressful world in which we find ourselves. That said, if you personally felt stuck and would like to make some changes; whether health-related, financial, or emotional, this four-question process is ridiculously easy to use and amazingly effective.

Question #1: Suppose I was successful; how would I know?

It seems silly to start here, but the reality is oft-times we fall short of our objectives because we’ve never defined the outcome clearly. We say “I want to feel better,” or “I want to get more fit.” Whereby those are lofty intentions, they’re not concrete enough to drive us to an endpoint. Sure, they might get us started, but we’ll often stall because we don’t know when we’ve arrived and the journey feels daunting and without end.

It’s more effective to state a goal such as “I will walk 30 minutes three times a week;” or “I will take time each day to write down five things for which I’m grateful.’

Being able to identify a clear change in behavior is essential to achieving goals.

Question #2: What has to happen for that objective to occur?

Obviously, if we were doing what we needed to do, we’d already be where we want to be. Since we’re not yet “there,” something must adjust. To that end, we have basically four options: start a new behavior; stop an existing behavior; do more of an already-existing behavior; or do less of an existing behavior.

Behavioral changes therefore might be, “put a 30-minute activity appointment in my calendar on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday;” or “reserve 10 minutes each morning to record those things for which I’m grateful.”

The trick here is not to line out an entire series of changes, but to define one simple, effective adjustment you can make to move forward.

Question #3: Can I do that?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Excuses, goals, Motivation, Newspaper Column, planning Tagged With: achieving your goals, asking questions, attaining your goals, goals, making change, realistic goals, setting goals, specific and measurable goals

A List: Top 5 Ways to Fail at Everything

February 4, 2015 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I am fascinated by lists.

man-looking-at-list

In college, my “go to” book was “The Book of Lists,” which was, um, well — basically a list of lists.

In today’s digital age, most are on-line. One site I found had the most popular “bucket list” ideas. Some of the trendiest objectives included visiting virtually every locale, jumping into a pool fully clothed, and — I kid you not — covering someone’s car in post-it notes. You scamp, you!

Techcrunch posts the most common Google searches. It contained “Ice Bucket Challenge”, “Ebola,” and “Flappy Bird” (a game). Sadly, the loss of “Robin Williams” generated the most searches.

Finally, Listverse, whose raison d’être is to make lists, presented its most popular of all time. Claiming spots in that prestigious ranking are “Top 15 Amazing Coincidences,” “Top 10 Amazing Facts About Dreams,” and the most popular list ever: “10 Fascinating Last Pictures Taken.”

Different times of year spawn season-appropriate lists. January might bring forth “Ten Tips to Getting Organized in the New Year.” In April, we’re informed of “Most Common Forgotten Tax Deductions.” June could give rise to “Top Wedding Ideas of Successful Brides.” (Of course, I don’t know what an “unsuccessful bride” would be.)

I want my own world-famous list. So, I thought of something no one else has done, which I now unveil: (insert fanfare please)

“Five Things You Can Do to Make Sure You Never Achieve Anything.”

In reverse order (because that makes it more exciting I guess):

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business Goals, goals, humor, Newspaper Column, Overcoming Obstacles, resolutions, Weight Loss Tagged With: achieving your goals, attaining your goals, goals, humor, making lists, specific and measurable goals, to do lists

How to Make New Year’s Resolutions That Actually Benefit You

December 16, 2014 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

It’s That Time of Year.

Look at some of her resolutions - they're very funny.

This time of year, our thoughts turn to new beginnings in the New Year. If you are one of the about 50 percent of Americans who commit to a New Year’s resolution, you might be currently brainstorming for your very own self-improvement project.

However, if we successfully achieved every single New Year’s resolution, we wouldn’t need to make them every year, would we? We’d have the perfect outlook on life, maintain our ideal weight and have money saved in the bank.

Alas, only 8 percent of people surveyed by the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology reported success in achieving their resolution. In fact, 24 percent of respondents say they are never successful with their resolutions and fail every year. It can be demoralizing to fail and those setbacks could persuade us to stop setting goals altogether.

Instead of abandoning self-reflection and self-improvement, why not evaluate the types of goals we set? Are they unattainable from the start? Are we unrealistic? Here are some tips to help make New Year’s resolutions that are beneficial and attainable. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Change, goals, Guest Author, Holidays, resolutions Tagged With: goals, guest author, new year's resolutions, realistic goals, specific and measurable goals, why resolutions fail

Unleashing Your Positive Side

May 30, 2013 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

success joy happinessYour attitude can make all the difference.  The actual act of thinking positively or negatively requires the same amount of energy. Of course the end results are very different.  A negative attitude will lead you into negative situations.  Most of the time you’ll suppress your full potential and follow down a path of failure.  Finding the positive in any situation can lift your spirits and set you on a better pathway to achieving what you want out of life.

It takes a lot of work to maintain a positive attitude. Proper planning and preparation will set you on the path to achieving the goal of living positively.  Follow these tips to learn how to unleash your positive side so that you improve relationships with friends and family, and impact coworkers and others around you.

Personal Assessment

The very first step is to take a self assessment.  Before you can proceed with any changes you should review your own disposition and current situation.  Take a long hard look and be honest with yourself.  This will not be easy, but it can be done.  You can’t change anything until you identify the areas that need the most emphasis.  Make a list and note down the negative aspects of your life.  Think about your attitude, how you live and your relationships.

Setting Goals

[Read more…]

Filed Under: goals, Gratitude, Guest Author, Motivation, Power of Attitude Tagged With: affirmation, affirmations, attitude, friends and family, personal assessment, personal development, positive attitude, self assessment, setting goals, specific and measurable goals

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