From the archives…
I wrote this post in January of 2021 when I set a goal to write a blog post each week for a year. I made it 50 weeks. Effort: check. I thought I could get to 1,000 subscribers. Result: unchecked.
I’m not there…yet. How about you with your 2021 goal(s)? If you aren’t there yet, let’s re-up and go another lap around the sun.
The most powerful word in goal setting
141 million Americans will be setting New Year’s goals this year. Unfortunately, only 8% of us will be keeping them. What if you knew you would reach your goal? What if you were guaranteed to achieve it?
This one little word can make that happen for you. It can change your fortune in 2021 2022 and beyond. Please use it wisely. The word is: yet.
Have you set a New Year’s goal for 2021 2022?
Around this time of year, we can typically be categorized into 3 groups:
- 1: No New Year’s goal (or resolution)
- 2: Set goal but abandoned
- 3: Set goal and still committed
Which group are you in? If you’re in Group 1 or 2, yet can help.
Group one: no goal
My assertion is that this group doesn’t set goals, not because they aren’t ambitious or driven, but because they don’t believe they can achieve them so why try? Maybe between kids and work, there isn’t any extra room or time in the day. Let’s be honest: life usually gets in the way.
I get it. But..
“If the only reason you’re not pursuing a dream is because of the length of time it will take to achieve it, you should start right now. Think longer-term.”
-James Clear
I ignored the scary idea of starting a blog for months because we just had a baby, work was busy, and I was skilled at convincing myself that I had nothing to say. I kept telling myself, “what would I even write about?”
So I used the word yet.
“I don’t have anything to say…yet”
I started small. I began a list of ideas to capture topics as they popped into my head and my idea list started to grow.
Group two: set a goal but abandoned it
This group was gung-ho about the New Year. Did the reflection. Got intentional and might have even written their goals down.
But when Grandma made her special dessert, our diet goal got eaten. We slept in, and our exercise goal got snoozed.
And then, when we looked at the timeframe over which our goal was intact (no matter how short), we didn’t see enough progress to dust ourselves off, get back up and try again.
So we abandoned it. I only know because I’ve been there…but “yet” can change things.
“I don’t have 1000 subscribers…yet.”
Group three: set a goal and still committed
This group is actually no more gifted than the people in Group one or two.
But mentally and emotionally, this group accepts that progress takes time. Transformation is a journey. There is no arrow “straight up and to the right” in life. It’s windy, crooked, and takes unexpected twists.
So they just hang in there on their goal by using the word yet until they finally hit their target.
Yet gives us unlimited chances
I like those odds. If we knew we’d hit the goal, wouldn’t we set it?
So, it isn’t that you haven’t reached your goal. It’s you haven’t reached your goal yet.
Which goal can yet help you achieve?