According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, only 8% of people who make New Year’s Resolutions achieve them. Why do most of us quit before we barely get started?

Photo Courtesy@Flickr.com/nadap_usnavy

I set goals every year, but like most of you, my zeal to do them starts to fade as the months go by. Never mind that I set SMART goals, i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Forget that I calendar the sequential steps to accomplish them. I set myself up for success, but I lose my enthusiasm and don’t take action. Does that happen to you? Does it frustrate you? Let’s fix this.

I had an “aha” moment I want to share with you. I listen to podcasters like Michael Hyatt, Ray Edwards, and Aaron Walker. They are experts at goal-setting. They share their “secrets” on how to meet them. I read Start with Why by Simon Sinek two years ago to help me know my “why” behind every goal I set. But, Mr. Walker made a statement in a recent interview that grabbed my attention. He said, “Set goals that you WANT to achieve.” Aha! That may sound obvious, but it unlocks for me why most of my goals aren’t reached. The majority of my past goals were set because I thought I “should” pursue them.

Here’s the application for the lesson I learned. I trust it will be helpful to you as you set your 2016 goals. Set goals that are not driven by an underlying thought of “I should.” For example:

1. Lose ten pounds by March 31, 2016 (because I should).
2. Read the Bible in a year (because I should).
3. Walk ten thousand steps a day (because I should).

Many experts add their own ideas for why most of us fail at achieving goals: no accountability, no tracking mechanism to measure the progress of goals, too many distractions in our environment, goals aren’t listed where you see them daily, etc. Those are all true. But if we WANT to complete our goals, the above reasons for failure are overcome by our strong desire to finish our goal. Nothing will stand in our way!

So, unless we WANT to lose ten pounds or WANT to read the Bible in a year, it’s not going to happen. Sinek’s suggestion to “start with why” is valuable, but to make it stick, our goals need a “why” driven by “I WANT to do this!” We can achieve the above three goals if they look something like this:

1. Lose ten pounds by March 31, 2016 (because I WANT to look and feel good).
2. Read the Bible in a year (because I WANT a deeper relationship with God).
3. Walk ten thousand steps a day (because I WANT to enjoy the outdoors).

As we look toward 2016, let’s ask ourselves, “What goals do I WANT to fulfill that doesn’t have a hidden ‘should’ behind it?” Give yourself permission to pursue something you WANT to do. But if we create goals laced with “should,” then we have to muster up self-discipline and determination to keep us going.

Let’s make goal-setting fun for 2016. Let’s be honest with ourselves and make sure we know why we WANT to attain them. If you’ve already set your goals, I encourage you to restate them so that you have identified why you WANT to do them. If you set any goals grounded by “I should,” then toss them – unless you have an unlimited supply of willpower!

Are there lessons you’ve learned about goal-setting you’d like to share below? What is one goal you WANT to realize in 2016? I would love to hear one of your goals for 2016. I’ll start with a fun goal. I love jigsaw puzzles, but since my move to Austin, I haven’t put one together. I have a 6,000-piece puzzle portraying the Wedding at Cana that has been on my shelf for seven years. I need to buy a table to accommodate the dimensions of the puzzle and set it in a cat-free zone, but I WANT to do this!

May 2016 be your best year yet! 

Blessings,

Lee Ann