Every year on January 1 people all over the world make New Year’s Resolutions. Forbes reports that an average of 8% of people achieve their New Year’s Resolutions. EIGHT percent!!
Psychology Today reports that people who set goals, write them down and ask for accountability succeed nearly 75% of the time.
What is the difference between a New Year’s Resolution and a Goal? Commitment. Saying “I will” instead of “I want to” is committing to action, not just dreaming and hoping.
We all need to dream. We all need to hope. But it doesn’t stop there.
I dream often of having the skinny body I did many years ago, even while eating my latest batch of chocolate cookies fresh out of the oven. Dreaming won’t bring the body back – only acting on the commitment to exercise and change my eating habits. Not just for a day or two, but to a lifetime commitment.
Opening a business where I would coach women who desire to move forward from where they are now to where they and God desire her to be means more than dreaming. I can visualize a schedule filled with clients, speaking engagements and an active blog post. That does not make it come to reality.
Making it a reality is overwhelming. There is such a large chasm between the desire and the picture in my dreams. Do you relate? Is there a chasm in front of you as well?
This past Christmas I purchased a jigsaw puzzle for my family to work on while visiting. We each have our own way of working on a jigsaw puzzle as far as placing pieces, sorting the unused ones, etc; but there is one thing we all agreed on – set out and position the border pieces first.
I apply the same to moving forward in my dream. Whether through using a coach of my own to help me go deeper into my desires, by journaling, through a vision board, or any other method that helps me focus, I outline the outer borders. What does I desire in the end? What values will I maintain? What ethical choices will I stand firm on? Where will I say no?
Then it’s time to sort the puzzle pieces and slowly, one by one, put the pieces into place until a full picture is presented. There were many interruptions along the way but we did finally put all the pieces together. That is, all the pieces except the one that was missing from the box.
Now that I have clarified my dreams and desires I add color as each step brings the dream toward a reality.
The process is slow moving for me; for others the pieces fall in place quickly.
The important thing is to remember that even a baby step is still a step forward. Stay committed. Keep moving forward.
What do you do to stay focused? How to you return to your efforts after interruptions occur? What happens when you find a piece is missing?
What dream will you commit to making a reality in 2017?