We all want to make changes and improvements in our lives. We’ve all said things to ourselves like “I want to make more time to go to the gym,” OR “I want to be better with my finances.” The problem is that these are only wishes unless we take concrete steps to making them a reality. I’m talking about setting and keeping your goals. I’m not talking about vague goals like “I will be better with my money.” I mean specific, time-oriented and measurable goals like “I will save $10,000 this year.” So, setting your goal is the first step. False. Even before you can set that goal, you have to figure out two things:
Why have you never saved $10,000 before?
and
What makes now different?
The problem with the way that we all set goals is to write down “I will save $10,000 this year,” only to have 12 months pass and you are no closer than you were on day one. Only 8% of people tend to keep their goals, according to the University of Scranton. That means the odds are 92 out of 100 that this has happened to you. It’s happened to me. So, why didn’t we succeed before and what makes now different?
Why Start with Why
In order to answer the questions, “Why didn’t I succeed before and what makes now different?” First you need to ask yourself why you want to make the change in the first place. Then dig deeper. You start with “Why do I believe that I am bad at handling my money?,” which leads to “It gives me anxiety to think about my money.” From here you ask yourself why again and again until you dig down to what gives you financial anxiety. It could be just because you have a lack of knowledge about finances and that makes you scared that no matter what the financial related goal is you just won’t succeed.
So, taking this new found discovery, you can form a plan to meet all of your finance related goals. So, to use our earlier example:
“Why have I never saved $10,000 before?”
“I did not posses the basic knowledge about finances to set myself up to successfully save $10,000.”
“What makes makes now different?”
“I have worked with a financial coach, who taught me the basics of budgeting that aligns with my values. Now I have the tools to successfully meet this goal.”
Wrap It Up!
I have found that this year, it has been especially easy to become overwhelmed with everything going on. However, if you are able to flip the table on its head, now could be a time of new beginnings.
Learning from your mistakes is the only way to improve. So, it doesn’t matter that you have failed 100 times in the past. This time is different because this time, you’re learning from those mistakes and taking a new step forward.
It is fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.
Bill Gates
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