Monday, 4 January 2010

Goal Setting for 2010 – A 5 step plan

OK, so 2010 has just started and like a lot of people, my New Year’s resolutions are already set aside! Have you ever wondered why it is that they are so hard to keep? Why is it that the best of intentions are the easiest to forget? Don’t be too disheartened if you find yourself in the same boat. According to a 2007 survey of over 3000 people by a British psychologist, over 88% of New Years resolutions end in failure. So you’re not on your own.


Jonah Lehrer, author of “How We Decide” and “Proust was a Neuroscientist” wrote an interesting article for the “Wall Street Journal” on December 26th last which gives the science behind why resolutions fail. According to Lehrer, the part of the brain that is responsible for willpower is the prefrontal cortex. Unfortunately this is also the part of the brain that keeps us focussed, handles short-term memory and solves abstract problems. So it’s quite a busy little brain piece!

Most of us assume that willpower is a strength of character, however research suggest that willpower has inherent limitations, and when this prefrontal cortex is overloaded, it struggles to resist what it wants, even when it isn’t what we need.

However, Lehrer’s article also suggests that willpower is a little like a muscle. You can train it and improve it and make it easier to keep those resolutions. Here are some of my tips for keeping resolutions in 2010.
1. Don’t make too many resolutions. This is a common mistake that a lot of people make. However, if you think of your willpower as a muscle, would you really try and lift three or four times your own bodyweight without some training? Asking your brain to focus on quitting smoking and losing weight, while resolving to concentrate more of work and pay off the credit card bill is probably asking it too much. Pick one or two and work on those.

2. Write them down. Bill Cullen, one of Ireland’s leading entrepreneur’s and star of “The Apprentice” on TV3 is a huge advocate of writing your goals down. He highlights the link between the pen and the mind. In school we were always told to write out chapters and take notes. This is a proven method or learning and storing things in our brains. Writing down your goals and resolutions will physically focus you on them.

3. Be Specific. Too many goals and resolutions are “Airy Fairy”. When you are writing your goals down, be very detailed. Remember, you are telling your unconscious mind what you want and intend to do. So don’t just put down that you want to lose weight. Be detailed. Write something like “I will lose 10lbs before May 2010 and will wear that red dress that I look fantastic in to the office picnic”. Don’t set a goal of achieving promotion at work – Be specific. “I will be regional manager of the company, responsible for 22 staff before October”. “I will double sales in my region by June 2010”. Be specific in what you are aiming for. Then you have a precise target to aim for.

4. Be realistic. There’s no point in aiming for the MD’s office if you are currently the post boy. The new car you want might be more than you can afford. The big house on the hill will require a mortgage that’s not attainable. Make sure that your goals are realistic and attainable, even if they are stretching you a little bit out of your comfort zone.

5. Focus on your goals EVERY DAY. Take time out, at the start or the end of the day to focus on your goals and to see how you are progressing towards them. What steps do you have to take next to achieve them. Do they need to be adjusted and re-appraised in any way? No point in having a goal of reducing your golf handicap if you’re not playing regularly. Set yourself aside some time every day to check your progress.

One of the basic tenets of psychotherapy is that all humans have the desire and ability to grow and change. In order to make these changes, we must create the right environment to allow the change to happen. In relation to goal setting and resolutions the five steps above will help. To make fundamental changes to you life, enlisting the assistance of a good counsellor or psychotherapist will certainly help.