It’s 2013 and everyone is scrambling to their notepads scribbling some form of resolution. Our mind tells us: “Yes it’s the New Year and it’s going to be an awesome year.”

This year’s resolution is to *insertwhateverpastfailresolutionshere*.

We get a gym membership in hope that this year will be the year we finally will look sexy without our shirts. As the weeks pass, the number of members dwindles. After the first three months, you will probably be snacking at McDonald’s 5 minutes away from the gym.

Sounds familiar? That’s how pretty resolutions can get. Pretty ugly. It’s like the girl you always wanted even though you know things will never work out because she will throw her bitch fits at you.

I am not a believer of New Year’s resolutions. I think that most of the time it never works well and has an infamous reputation of bringing disappointments. Some of my friends said that their new year’s resolution is to fulfill last year’s resolution. The next year, they say the exact same thing. Get the picture now?

I think that if you want to fix a problem you should fix it now. Don’t wait for the New Year to make your life better.

If you do not have the fortitude to change things now you most probably won’t have it on the 1st of January either.  <— Tweet this Yo!

So what do I do now? First, banish the thought of New Year’s resolution from your head. Then take a piece of paper and at the top write: Goals for 2013. Here are 5 steps I use whenever I set my goals.

1. Define where you are right now.

We need to know what we want to achieve, this takes some guts and serious reflecting. One tip is to leave your ego at your door. We all have issues and if we are afraid to admit it then it becomes a problem. You will never know much your life stinks if you refuse to accept the fact that the thing you are standing on is a pile of shit.

Honestly, assess the situation you are in and figure out what you want to achieve.

2. Write your goals down.

Goal setting is much more practical and feasible once you start writing it down. If this is your first time doing it, you might face some difficulties writing down things you want to achieve.

However, do not skip this step. Writing down your goals is the most crucial step, when you write down your goals you are actually bringing a thought into reality. It helps you turn something abstract into something visible and concrete. Moreover, if you are so lazy to write your goals down your probably won’t achieve it anyway.

3. Be specific

Being specific is extremely important when it comes to achieving your goals. It allows us to measure our goals to keep track of our progress. Anyone can say: “ I want to lose weight, or I want to read more often”. The problem here is without being specific we would not be able to measure our results.

Instead of just writing down I want to lose weight or I want to read more often. Write down I want to lose 10lbs and fit into my size 31 jeans by March 31st. Write down I will start reading an hour a day and try to read at least 2 books a month. This is being specific.

When we are specific with our goals it stop us from thinking too much. It reduces any guesswork and excuses that might pop up during the way. It helps us focus at the task at hand. It also important to note that many people need to clearly understand their goals before they can work on it and being specific will definitely help here.

4. Deadlines and outcomes

We all need some kind of motivation to keep us to our words. This is when deadlines come into place. We need to set an exact date that will allow us to accomplish our goals.

Sometimes we work better if there are of repercussions or rewards motivating us. You could reward yourself whenever you meet your deadline. It could be a small treat like a burger or catching a movie. However if you fail, there will be a repercussion as well.

Something that works extremely well is to put some money on the line. Make your deadline known to a few of your close friends and if you fail you are going to treat ALL of them to lunch.

Another thing that works well is ask your friends to hold you accountable and if you fail, they would set you up for some EXTREMELY EMBARRASSING stunt such as doing jumping jacks in a crowded mall singing a Justin Bieber song.

 

5. Act and then repeat

Setting goals would be useless if no action is taken. As I mentioned in Kick Asslogy 101(a daily tip I post on facebook) I believe that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. You just need to start doing it and don’t stop till your goals are met. When you achieve your goals, go back to 1.

 

Wrapping it all up

I am a huge fan of goal setting and I believe it plays a huge role in all of my past achievements. The 5 steps above is how I usually set my goals. To recap, here are the 5 steps:

1. Define where you are right now.

2. Write your goals down.

3. Be specific

4. Set deadlines and reward/punish accordingly.

5. Act on it and then repeat.

To put it all into perspective, setting goals is very much like driving. When we set goals we are  driving with an end in mind. Thus if anything comes your way, you would always know how to get back on track.

However, doing the opposite is like driving aimlessly in hope to stumble upon the promise land. You probably end up running low on fuel and hitchhiking on someone’s truck If you don’t get kidnap by some freaky truck driver, you probably end up right back where you started. It’s a waste of time and effort.

 

So burn all your New Year’s resolutions, start setting goals for 2013 and start kicking ass.

 

 

 

What are 2 goals you plan on setting for 2013? Drop them in the comment and I will make sure I hold you accountable. Let’s kick ass together.

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