When it comes to goal setting people pretty much fall into 2 camps – people who set goals and those who don't.  Over the past couple of weeks I have been conducting my own survey; casually asking people if they had set goals as part of the start of new year.  Surprising to me is the number of people who have said "Oh I don't set goals; that doesn't work."

There are ways to make goal achievement more likely to be successful.  If you want to make this year different try these 5 steps:

1. Set yourself only 2 or 3 goals.

I find that if I am working on too many goals at the same time that I don’t seem to achieve as much I think I ought to be able to.  Working on less goals means I have more time to devote to each goal.

Try it, set only a few goals and work on them. 

When you set yourself a few goals then you have more time to devote to each one.  Devoting more time will result in more progress and more progress makes you feel more motivated.  When you become more motivated, you will put more effort into working on your goals.  It’s a very healthy cycle of motivation and success.

2. Write them down.

Amazing how many people don’t write down their goals. 

All the research shows that there is significant increase in achievement when goals are written down.

3. Choose someone who will hold you accountable.

Coaches across the world know that one of the critical ways to improve performance is to be accountable to someone.  When you know you have to report to someone who will not let you off the hook or listen to excuses, performance Always improves.

Think about a person who can be your mentor/ coach/ goal buddy.  Ask this person to hold you accountable.  Arrange weekly “check in” where you report progress towards your goal.

4. Keep your goals front of mind.

Years ago someone told me the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire is the frequency with which they keep check of their goals.  When you keep your goals front of mind then you are more likely to take actions to achieve them.

What you focus on is what turns up in your life.  I truly believe that this is one of the main reasons that people don’t make progress towards achieving their goals.  It is important to be thinking about them all day long.

As part of my morning “preparation for the day” ritual I read my goals early in the morning.  During the day I have times where I re-focus my attention to my goals.  The more I am thinking about what I want to achieve the more my energy focuses on things that help me achieve them.

5. Do something every day.

This is a variation on my “just get started” motto.  Each small step you take will move you close to your goal.  Taking action is what will help you to achieve your goals.  There are 365 days in a year and if you do one action every day that is 365 actions working towards your goal. 

These are just words on a page, or computer screen until you bring them alive.  Bring your goals to life with these 5 steps and you just might find that this year is Different.