The best way to set a new years resolution to achieve your goals!

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Scott Epp, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

The Best Strategy to Achieving your Goals in 2014 – Commit to ‘ONE WORD’ this Year!

Come up with One Word that describes what you are going to commit to this year. Yes ‘ONE WORD.’ It’s simple, easy and you can put it up somewhere where you will see it all the time. My word is ‘Thankful.’ One Word is easy to remember, it’s something that can stick with you and it is simple. Some people dislike New Year’s resolutions but this is different in a lot of ways. You aren’t writing down a long list of goals. Instead you are choosing ‘ONE WORD’ to commit to this year.

Now this is how you choose the ‘ONE WORD.’ This word must stretch you, motivate you, work with your current abilities or cause you to raise your abilities. It also must be Radical and it must be the right goal. I describe the Epp Method of setting SMART Goals later where I highlight more of how you can achieve your goals. In this case however you’re not setting a goal so much as you’re setting a commitment to ‘One Thing.’

How will you Achieve results with this ‘ONE WORD’ this year? You are vowing to keep this ‘ONE WORD’ in front of you throughout the year and to put this word into action. First of all you will put this word up physically throughout your house. It doesn’t have to be fancy but it does have to be visible. The ‘ONE WORD’ that I have chosen for 2014 is ‘Thankful.’ And I will share more ‘Why’ I chose this word in a bit and you can see from the photos that I have put this word up at multiple places. I am often at my Desk so ‘Thankful’ is posted on the bottom of my computer screen. I am often using my laptop so ‘Thankful’ is posted on the chassis of my notebook. I of course often go to the door of my office so ‘Thankful’ is at my door. I posted ‘Thankful’ on the mirror in my our master bedroom because I look into this mirror every day and when I see myself I’ll see my commitment to being ‘Thankful.’ Other places that would be beneficial to consider putting up your words are: On a wall somewhere that you see it often, on a window, on your bathroom mirror, in your car, on your stirring wheel, on the inside of your closet door, on your fridge, on your calendar, on the background image of your computer, in a picture frame, at your workplace where ever you will see it often and it is allowed. Basically it needs to be in front of you so that you can take action with it every day. Committing to taking action to this ‘ONE WORD’ can radically transform your life BUT you need to take action in order to achieve your goal.

How I chose my ‘ONE WORD.’ As I mentioned earlier I chose my ‘ONE WORD.’ To be ‘Thankful.’ The reason why I chose ‘Thankful’ is because it has been resonating in my heart for the last few months and I couldn’t ignore it. Maybe you thought there was some magic formula for why I chose the word. Well, the most important reason why this is my word is because I can’t ignore it. When I open myself up and ask myself what word I should choose I knew I needed to choose ‘Thankful’ as my word to commit to. I then measured it with my Epp Method setting Smart Goals©.

Stretch

Motivation / Milestones

Ability / Attitude

Radical

The Right goal

Stretch – I affirm that this ‘ONE WORD’ will Stretch me because I often forget how blessed I really am. I also often get caught up in life and I lose touch with what really matters. This word will cause me to be more humble and release my pride and that is always a stretch for me.

Motivation / Milestones – Being thankful also motivates me. I am motivated to have this as a priority for an entire year. I think about Dale Carnegie’s book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ and how he described the qualities of a man who would bless people and be thankful for them. I am motivated to be like the man Dale described. I can also easily set milestones that will help me know how I am doing with this goal. I choose to have

Ability / Attitude – Being thankful is within my ability. Currently I have proven to myself that I can be thankful when I am intentional about it. At times I am great at stopping to appreciate people and the blessings in my life. It makes me feel awesome and it also satisfies my Core Value of encouragement. I called to encourage and this ‘ONE WORD’ commitment will raise my value on encouragement throughout the year.

Radical – Being thankful is radical and extreme to me. I think that being thankful is something we all must learn to be. It is not a natural quality. In fact in most cases we learn how to fend for ourselves and take what we need first. I look at the nature of children and they most often look at what they want first and need to be taught to be thankful for what they get. As an adult this challenge is radical because It will cause me to look deeply at this one word and let it transform my year.

The Right goal – Being thankful is The Right Goal for me right now in my life in this season. I just became a father for a second time, I recently moved from Canada to Australia with my wife and kids, my life is in major transition and I am stepping into challenges that are massive right now. Being thankful the perfect word to commit to because I know it will help me appreciate the things that do matter the most in life and to me. It will help me keep my pride in check and interestingly enough I know that it will help me achieve more this year although that isn’t my main motivation. Being thankful would not have been the right word for me in years past but where I am at in my life it is the perfect word for this year.

I share my story and ‘WHY’ I chose my word to mirror how you can choose your word. What is happening for you with hearing my story?

Here is a One sheet that will help you easily choose the right ‘ONE WORD’ to commit to this year!

The ‘ONE WORD’ to commit to this year Tool!

Use the Epp Method setting Smart Goals©. to decide what your commitment needs to be. First come up with an idea that you think will work and then measure that idea up with the below acronym. If it passes each of the aspects of the acronym then it is a great word to commit to this year.

Stretch

Motivation / Milestones

Ability / Attitude

Radical

The Right goal

Your ‘ONE WORD’ that you are committing to this year is:

Why are you committing to this ‘ONE WORD’ this year?

7 Power Habits will see that your ‘One Word’ Commitment works!

A power habit is something that you do routinely every day that requires for you to be in massive measurable action. These power habits will help you follow through with your commitments! You cannot rely on your willpower or self-motivation. You must put your commitment into practice and the best way to do that is to build power habits. Willpower is like a muscle. The more you use willpower the more it will gain strength and the more consistent you are you’re your self-control the easier it will become.

Researchers from the London Global University have done a more rigorous and valid study of habit formation (Lally, van Jaarsveld, Potts, & Wardle, 2010). They have discovered that habits are formed on average in 66 days. This means that if you are looking to create a new habit then you must consistently and automatically build that habit by March 6th. Here is a list of Power Habits that I have come up with to help you commit to your ‘One Word.’

Power Habit #1 – Keep your ‘ONE WORD’ in front of you.

Put it up anywhere that will force you to see it often. This will keep it in your conscience mind and you will be able to bring it to your attention rapidly.

Power Habit #2 – Use the ‘KISS’ strategy.

Keep It Simple Silly. Don’t over complicate your ‘ONE WORD’ commitment. KEEP IT SIMPLE SILLY.

Power Habit #3 – Focus, Focus, Focus

You need to bring your mind, body and spirit to bear on your commitment. Concentrate on your ‘ONE WORD’ daily and focus on how you are going to apply it into your life.

Power Habit #4 – Meditation and / or Visualize your ‘ONE WORD.’

Bring yourself to your best self and ask yourself how you can achieve putting this one word into practise today. When you are at your best place / in your best self you are able to think more clearly and new insights will come to you.

Power Habit #5 – Get up early.

I learnt this power habit from Robin Sharma who has vastly documented the benefits to getting up early. Firstly you have the power to get up earlier than you may think you have. When you do – intentionally do something that will help you get into a great state for your ‘ONE WORD.’ When you wake up earlier than normal you give yourself more time and the right kind of energy to invest in your commitment. You can start your day with your commitment in mind and that can make all of the difference.

Power Habit #6 – Use the Power of Words.

There is power in the words that you say. There is limiting, negative, scarcity etc. power in the words you say that will keep you from achieving. There is also empowering, positive and abundant power in the words you say. You will get discouraged, frustrated, disappointed and more if your ‘ONE WORD’ stretches you. In these times remember that what you say will direct your path. You can also use the Power of verbalizing to declare your choice and your commitment to your ‘ONE WORD.’

Power Habit #7 – Make Rewards Crucial.

Often when we achieve a milestone we forget to reward ourselves. So often we forget to celebrate our successes and we just move on with life. If we do acknowledge our achievements we don’t stop to appreciate the journey long enough and often we don’t reward ourselves. This is why when we commit to our ‘ONE WORD’ we need to set milestones that show us how we are doing with our commitment. When we reach a milestone reward yourself with something. The reward can be as simple as ‘The joy of journaling about your experience, going on a walk in nature, listening to your favorite song, or even eating your favorite piece of chocolate.’ Whatever you chose as your reward know that it is rewards that keep you engaged and motivated towards your goal. Don’t overlook rewarding yourself and set rewards that you genuinely enjoy.

- See more at: http://www.abundancecoaching.com/the-best-way-to-set-a-new-years-resolution-the-smart-way-to-set-your-2014-goals/

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