Forget Resolutions, There's a New Queen in Town

In exactly five days the year 2014 starts. What are your plans? Do you have a new year resolution? If you do have plans and some new year resolutions, I have news for you. You need to throw away the word new year resolution and put the world "plans" in a new place. Take that word "plans" and put it as the first number point under the title Goals of 2014. Now you have the proper set up.

P.S. WRITE ALL OF THIS DOWN. WRITTEN WORD IS WORTH MORE THAN WHAT IS THOUGHT IN YOUR MIND!

In order to have a goal (what you once may have called a new year resolution) you need to take into consideration five key factors of the SMART filter.

• Specific
• What is the goal when you really think about it?
• Why is this goal important for you? Aka who are you really doing this goal for?
• How are you going to do and achieve this goal?
• Measurable
• Set up a calendar schedule to keep yourself in check
• Rewards yourself (May potentially be one of the worse ideas in the books, but setting aside $5 to add to your "clothes I want list" or giving yourself a dine out for each time you have a major accomplishment may be a great incentive.)
• Attainable
• Is this a realistic idea?
• Can you reasonable finish this off?
• Can you obtain such a goal?
• Before you go any further with THIS specific goal (not all of your goals), is now a good time for THIS goal? If so, please continue. If not, please stop wasting your time with THIS goal and start your next goal through this SMART filter. Save that goal for a better time. 
• Realistic
• Yes, you can attain the goal. But when it really comes down to actually committing to your goal, will you do it? If no, find something more fascinating.
• Is your goal wishful thinking? If yes, maybe find a different goal or revise.
• Do you know you can do it, but need someone to come along side you to keep you in check? If so, find someone who will.
• Timely
• Set a completion day with a celebrate with (solo party, with your sweetheart, with your family, or with a bunch of friends) whomever understands how much THIS goal meant to you. (You may have multiple goal parties because different people will understand how much each separate goal means to you.) 
• Have your goal quartered so that you can have four mini celebration days that will keep you going.
• Set in time where you could have a crisis or need a vacation from your goal because your overwhelmed with life at the time.

One of your (or your only) goal has passed the SMART filter. Yay! Do a happy dance or pat yourself on the back because this isn't one of your stupid ideas. (I don't know about you, but I have a lot of stupid ideas. Most of those stupid ideas don't leave my laptop/mind/notebook, hopefully known of them reach Wenya & Yoeli for y'alls sake.)

Now you need to prepare. Hate, hate, hate it! Love, love, love it! Whatever, I'll do it. Your in one of those three categories when it comes to preparing. But we aren't preparing a party here, so that may ruin some of y'alls reactions. We're going to prepare for difficulties. Difficulties will be different for each goal, but in your best interest find someone whom you consider to be a negative person to look over your goal. A negative person you say, yes a "negative" person because in reality they're more than likely not a negative person. People whom most people view as negative are actually deliberative (not all but most), it's one of their strengths as an individual. They have the skill/ability to see all the issues that could arise. If that sounds you like or you've been told your negative, then you more than likely are already preparing for all the difficulties.

You're ready for anything that could go wrong and your goal is looking crisper than a hundred dollar bill. It's time to find your personal support team.

We touched base on a support team in the realistic and timely part of the SMART filter. Without people cheering you on for your accomplishments and telling you how much they believe in you, you're going to fall flat on your face. Unless you're a super self motivated person, then maybe a support team isn't necessary but it's always recommended. Find people who…

• Believe in your goal/dream
• Have always been there for you
• Have stayed with you through the tough times
• Are close to your heart
• Care about you
• Trust your judgements (even those deliberative people)
• Know how important the goal is to you

The people who are those things above are the ones that you should have on your support team and celebrate with when you complete your goal. You've now completed the before action plan but what happens after that? I'll tell you.

Lastly, look at the success and failure. After you have completed a goal, or maybe your goal fell all the way from the attic to the basement, look it over. Look over your goal very closely and for a while. But not so close that you see less. (Sorry, couldn't help it part of Now You See Me.) What were the success points of achievement with your goal? What absolutely done right failed? Take all of this into consideration and learn from your mistakes and achievements, because we don't just learn from mistakes these days.

Happy goal making!

-Wenya-