Which is likely to be broken first? Those expensive new toys the kids got for the holidays or your New Year’s resolutions?
Be honest, now.
The problem most people have with resolutions is they don’t treat them like goals.
Mark Magnacca president of Insight Development Group in Upton, Mass., says that while everybody knows that goal-setting is important, not everyone knows how to set a goal. Magnacca, a peak performance coach, specializes in helping people achieve their goals.
Magnacca’s system for goal-setting includes the acronym RIA, for Result, Intention and Action.
The first step is to define the result you want to reach. President Kennedy did this in 1960 when he announced his goal to put a man on the moon by the decade’s end.
The next step is to define your intention. Why do you want to achieve your result? For Kennedy, it was to prove that the U.S. had the technological power to beat the Russians.
Finally, you must develop an action plan. This should detail the steps needed to achieve the outcome. If your intention is strong enough, the details should fall easily into place, Magnacca says .
“The fuel of this whole process is the ‘why,’” he said. “History is filled with examples of people who knew why they had to accomplish something. They didn’t know how to do it, but because they knew why they had to accomplish it, they figured out how.”
To start the process rolling, Magnacca suggests getting a blank piece of paper and writing at the top, “If I had unlimited time, talent money and support from my family, here’s a list of all the things that I would do with my life.”
Then, spend the next 10 minutes writing down any goal that comes to mind, even those that seem far-fetched. It’s important to write freely without letting any doubts creep in, Magnacca says. When you’re done writing, sort through the list, choosing the items you really want to accomplish in the next 12 months. Ask yourself why you want to reach these goals, then develop an action plan for each one.
The action plan is critical, serving as a sort of map that will take you from the idea stage of your goal to its fulfillment. Without the action plan, it’s too easy to lose sight of where you’re going and to abandon your goal altogether. This written set of instructions will allow you to change course if needed without abandoning your ultimate goal.
Magnacca points out that during a typical flight from Boston to Los Angeles, the airliner is off course 95 percent of the time. But when the captain takes off, he knows where he’s going and throughout the flight is constantly making slight adjustments to ensure the plane reaches its destination. The action plan serves the same function as the airline pilot’s flight plan.
One thing many successful people have in common is their ability to set goals and to pursue them. Most of these people work from a written list, tackling items each day so they know they’re accomplishing something toward their dreams.
“That’s the difference between someone who sets a New Year’s resolution and someone who sets a goal, then keeps checking it throughout the year, or until they reach the goal,” Magnacca said. “If you keep checking, you retain the flexibility to change without losing sight of where you want to end up.”
