Set Goals and Share them with Others

You haven’t given up on your New Year’s intentions have you?  Of course not!  I told you an intention is easier to keep than a resolution.  Here are two things that will make it even easier to keep your intentions: 1) set specific goals and 2) tell others about your intentions.

Setting specific goals

Goal setting is an amazing motivational tool.  Having goals directs your energy and increases your persistence.  You are more likely to keep your New Year’s intentions if you identify a subset of specific goals or action steps that will move you closer to your larger goal.  These smaller subgoals keep you from feeling overwhelmed and let you celebrate your progress toward achieving your larger objective.

Telling others

Don’t make the mistake of keeping your goals a secret!  You are much more likely to achieve your goals if you share them with others.  This creates accountability.  Knowing that people are going to be asking you about your progress toward your goals is a great incentive for taking action.  It is also often the case that others can help you achieve your goals if they know what you are trying to accomplish.

Space travel

Anousheh Ansari dreamed of going into space as a little girl in Iran.  After moving to America, earning a degree in engineering, and becoming a successful entrepreneur, she still told anyone who would listen about her dream.  Her love of space travel led her to sponsor the Ansari X Prize, which awarded $10 million to the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice in a two-week period.

Because Anousheh was so outspoken about her goal of traveling into space, she was was chosen to train as a backup astronaut for a trip to the international space station.  Knowing that actually going into space on the mission was extremely unlikely, she nevertheless underwent 6 months of intense training.  Three weeks before the launch, the person for whom she was the backup developed kidney stones and was unable to make the trip.  In September 2006 Anousheh Ansari fulfilled her lifelong dream by becoming the first female private space explorer.  It is highly unlikely that Anousheh would have made it into space if she had kept her dream a secret.

I encourage you to write down a list of specific steps that you need to take in order to achieve your goals.  And follow Anousheh’s example by sharing your goals with others.  Why not start by telling us about your intentions in the Comments?