Go Goals, Let's End 2016 on a Winning Note

With the start of the Hindu New Year which has been celebrated as Diwali, it’s time to reflect and introspect on how the past year went and set ambitious new goals for the New Year. Yes that dreaded word resolutions is here to haunt us again. This is especially true for folks in businesses and yes for us in corporate jobs who go through performance reviews at this time. In the next few weeks, you need to decide on what 2017 should shape up to be and how you will achieve them.

Turnaround Your Aborted New Year Resolutions to End 2016 on a Winning Note

While most of us in India continue to use the start of the calendar year as a milestone to do this thinking, given festivities and a charged atmosphere to be at your moral and spiritual best this month, I am sure you have spent time thinking what went wrong and why you didn’t achieve your big audacious goals at the start of the year. I’ve guilt tripped myself, gone on an overdrive of critical self-blame only to find out that I am not alone (Thank God, merci). That set you thinking didn’t it?

So with just two months to go before we step into 2017, how about goals for 60 days? Smaller hence maybe more achievable with less likelihood to fail. Goals such as “I will be in the best shape by end of this year” have rarely worked, if it did, we wouldn’t be finding it feature as a top goal for the majority, would we? How about a smaller goal like: losing 5 kgs and being used to gymming 3-4x a week by Dec 31^st?

But by no means am I a productivity expert on how to create the perfect SMART goal and just like you all, I often struggle myself. Hence, in my search to find out how to achieve my goals, I chanced upon some rather thought provoking talks that are contrarian to popular discourse and teaching of goal setting and achievement

Here are two strategies that I found useful and I will explain by taking an example- yes, you guessed it right, to lose some (holiday) weight. For the purposes of illustration, the goal is to: lose 5 kgs by year end, so here is what you should do

1. Don’t focus on your goals, focus on your behavior

Instead of focusing on losing 5 kgs, focus on getting the behaviors right like: going to the gym/actually going to the yoga class instead of thinking about it/joining a running group for running even if its walking instead of enjoying  whatsapp conversations on the topic/eating healthier food/not eating after 8 pm/sleeping well. All simple tips you already know but haven't made these your behaviors, right? Choose instead on giving undivided attention to behaving the part of a fit-healthy you and savor the changes

2. Keep your goals to yourself

But what about those Facebook checkin/Instagram pic with trainers and your smart watch showing calories burnt - how about keeping that on the back burner for now instead of reveling in that instant moment of jubilation and victory thereby allowing you to lose sight of your goal: losing 5 kgs. Psychologists have found that telling someone your goal tricks your mind into "social reality" that dissuades progress. Don't seek validation from friends or by the number of likes but focus on how you feel now and how you will feel when in 2 months you post that pic in a LBD (little or lovely black dress, whatever you like) everyone is all praise for your progress. Also give yourself a pat on the back after a fit-healthy day but don't let it stop. Small, consistent steps.

Let’s checkin in 60 days- post your results and tell me what your goal was, how you achieved it with these strategies. I will also share mine, yes?

Thank you for reading my post. Hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please remember to leave a comment. It motivates me to continue writing more stories like this one and yes, it helps people find this post too. Post any feedback or question you have in the comment box below, or tweet to me @jasuja on Twitter.

About the author: Monica Jasuja is a Payments Ninja specializing in Digital Payments Initiatives to further India’s progress as a less cash dependent economy. She is a Product Strategist with work experience in 4 geographies globally and brings knowledge and firsthand experience of designing, developing products with the wow factor. This article expresses her personal views, and not those of any of her employers—past, present or future. Monica is available on Twitter: @jasuja