So you’ve done the heart work and the hard work. From our previous blog, if you’ve taken time in the last few days to answer the important questions about why this goal is important to you and how it lines up with your values… you are well on your way to accomplishing your goals this year. Target... check! But where do you start? How do you start?

When starting anything, whether it be a car engine, assignment, big project, or idea, it requires a tremendous amount of energy in the beginning to create the secret to reaching goals. This is called momentum. Momentum is the unseen force that allows us to put in small efforts daily to keep the machine going. In the same way, you have to take all the motivation and resolve in the beginning of any goal to create an enormous plan of action for the first 2-3 weeks and then build in daily small disciplines to get the goal well on its way.

For example, my close friend decided it was time to get his finances in order. His personal spending habits were a mess and he was constantly finding his bank account lacking. Then he took a financial course that taught him about budgeting and discipline. The course recommended that he track every penny coming in and going out for the first 3 months. Why? To increase his awareness around his finances. It is really difficult to manage your finances when you have no idea why your bank account always looks empty! Doing this exercise helped him see where he had some spending choices that were not in alignment with his highest values and goals. It took 3 months of tedious recording (though there are apps like Toshl for that now!), budgeting, abstaining, and discipline. To decrease the pressure on himself, he made the primary goal about choice and awareness. Therefore, he couldn't fail this goal! As long as he was tracking the budget, he gave himself permission to make poor spending choices. What started to happen is his increase in self-awareness! Whenever he verbalized that "this is probably not the best way to spend my money," it became more and more difficult to spend poorly! After the 3 months, his thinking began to shift to form a healthy budget. It's really nice to have money in the bank at all times! My friend looks back on those days as making the greatest investment to his financial future as a young man. It took massive action and resolve in the beginning, but even 15 years later, he still has those habits that serve him while putting in the minimal effort (e.g., like automated savings!).

Motivation and resolve are not enough to bring you to the end of your goal, but they are enough to get you started towards them with massive action. If you are someone who may need counseling or coaching this year to move towards a scary goal or resolution, my team and I are here to guide you on the path to choosing better today! We hope you enjoyed this month's articles on goals and look forward to next month's topic: INNER PEACE and FREEDOM. Hope to see you then!