New Year - New Goals?

I have always struggled with long term goal setting, both personally and professionally. My most dreaded task at work was crafting the required annual plan. I much prefer just stepping out and moving forward, kinda like hopping on an escalator and seeing where you end up.  However, I've been told many times (and have actually uttered these words to others - complete with a PowerPoint animated slide with a target and and arrow moving to the center), if you don't have a goal in mind, you won't know when you get there.  

It seems that whatever media I tune into I hear about setting a goal, or declaring a resolution, or read about 'intentionalities'. I wonder how many folks actually stick to their plans. Hmmmm....

I asked Mr. Albert I-nstein and found out that only 8-10% of people actually following through for the year; with almost 25% quitting within one week, and just under 50% of the folks are over their plans by the end of January. That doesn't speak well for declaring resolutions, or making plans! 

Yesterday I tuned into one of my favorite podcasts, The Sewcial Hour Podcast. I met one of the hosts, Audra, when she came to visit her mother, with whom I sew. She's a remarkable young woman and I like to tune into the podcast.

I liked a lot of what Audra and Bethany had to say. Although they didn't inspire me to write down any goals, I did like several of their ideas. 

Being a concrete type of thinker, and being highly visual, I liked how they had several analogies. One being a meal. You have an appetizer, an entree, sides, desert, etc. Some of the things you like/want to do can fall into those categories; a big, large goal that you tackle after to have accomplished a smaller task that helps whet your appetite for the bigger goal. A fun goal that you save until the end as a reward for tackling and accomplishing the bigger idea. They also suggested the idea of 'palette cleansers' - cute, little things you can add in between larger chunks. 

Another comment that hit home with me is dealing with failure, or with struggling in moving forward with a goal. I am often a victim of 'stuckness', and find it frustrating to keep banging my head against a wall, or feeling as if I failed. Audra suggested that when you feel you have met failure, consider it as failing forward. Use the failure as a jumping point to move on. In effect, pivoting in your path toward your goal, and coming up with a different solution. 

I have read about setting S.M.A.R.T. goals through the years and from a number of sources, and Bethany & Audra brought it up in the podcast.The terminology actually was published in 1981.  S.M.A.R.T. goals actually refer to those that are: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.  When I was teaching we were required to include much of this in our our plan. books writing objectives something like this: All students will calculate the area of squares and rectangles at the close of this lesson with an accuracy of 95%. I much preferred thinking most of that, and not having to use a lot of ink, paper and time to write it all down!

The biggest take-away from the podcast that impacted my thinking was the 'why'. They suggested that you consider phrases like, "What feels most exciting about a specific task/project....and why?" Or, "What is distracting you from accomplishing X, Y or Z....and why?" Of everything they said, I think this might help shape my thinking more than anything else. And, knowing the "why" behind my actions, emotions or whatever may be helpful in moving towards a satisfying, empowered future.

What about. you? Do you set goals? Do you have a resolution for the year? How do you move forward...following a plan, or meandering along a path selecting goals as you go?