Goals Are Dreams With A Deadline
BOSTON (CBS) - According to Forbes magazine just 8% of us achieve our New Year's Resolutions each year. I actually thought it was higher. The Farmer's Almanac has the success rate at around 20%. Better, but not by much. It seems most of us set unrealistic goals without a plan and never succeed.
So why bother even to make resolutions if we never achieve them?
Hope springs eternal. It's the beginning of a new year and so often we want to undo or redo whatever we did or didn't do last year.
In reviewing the most popular lists, I found folks planning to try and accomplish more or less what they wanted to do last year at this time.
I Googled "New Year's Resolutions" and I was surprised by how much of this year's list looked like last year's list. I have compiled a list of the most popular resolutions and some resources.Get Fit
- Lose Weight
- Save Money
- Manage Debt
- Get a Better Education
- Get a Better Job
- Manage Stress
- Quit Smoking
- Travel More
- Volunteer to Help Others
- Drink Less Alcohol
We all want to be Healthy, Wealthy and Wise. So we'll work on these things this week.
Prioritize your goals and put together a plan. What's your deadline? If you want to succeed, you need to be committed to your plan.
Look for resources to help. Think about using smaller goals to achieve bigger goals. You want to save more. Start with put away $25 a week towards an emergency fund. You want to lose 25 pounds. Start with a goal of five pounds.
Think about enlisting the help of a friend, your family, an organization like Weight Watchers or AA. You need someone to be accountable to. You will do better if you tell people your resolutions and why they are important to you. You want to lose weight to lower your blood pressure; you want to stop drinking to keep your job; you want to save money to buy a house.
One more thing: I think the key to being successful is to be realistic. You will not be a size six by Valentine's Day. But 5 pounds is realistic. You will not be able to wipe out your credit card debt in a month. But in a year or 18 months it is achievable.
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You can hear Dee Lee's expert financial advice on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 each weekday at 1:55 p.m., 3:55 p.m., and 7:55 p.m.
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