“New Year’s Day… now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.” (Mark Twain)
Now that 2008 is officially one week old, I’m curious as to whether or not Mr. Twain was talking off the top of his head. I think I can safely say that I won’t have to pave any kind of hell any time soon, since I threw out the ritualistic round of creating those impressive, yet sometimes, impossible lists a few years ago.
Does that mean that I don’t set goals and objectives? Of course not. It has been said that a person without a goal is like a ship without a rudder. And I’m certainly not suggesting that persons shouldn’t make resolutions, either. In fact, I have quite a few short-term and long-term goals in the planning stage. But what is it about New Year resolutions that cause them to have such a brief life span, thus giving credence to statements like Twain’s? One possible reason is that they’re not S.M.A.R.T.
What about you? Are your goals, plans, and objectives S.M.A.R.T.? By that, I mean, are they Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely? For those on a weight-loss mission, are you hell-bent on losing ten or more pounds in a week or less in an attempt to gain the perfect body? What is that anyway? How can there even be a size zero? Is a duppy dat!
But I digress.
Have you written your S.M.A.R.T. goals down? Or are they floating around in never-never land in your head? Could they even be haphazard scribbles on scraps of paper that will most likely get eaten by your dog? If you want to prove Mr. Twain wrong, follow the Good Book’s advice in Habakkuk 2:2: “Write the vision…make it plain.” That course you’ve been planning to take for the longest while, that trip to some faraway, exotic land, that business you’ve already conceived in your heart, that move you know you need to make, that book you’ve been meaning to write (ahem) – each one comprises your vision. Give it some concreteness by getting it out of your mind and in black-and-white. Keep it in a prominent place where it cannot be missed.
Who are you hanging with? Are you rubbing shoulders with persons who could offer guidance and wise counsel about ways in which your vision can be launched into the next level? Do you want to soar with the eagles, or are you content to scratch the ground of mediocrity with chickens? Whatever label you choose to attach to this crucial stage – networking, for example – position yourself with folks who are already established in the field or niche that you want to fill. Make them your unofficial advisors, if needs be. Mine them for nuggets of wisdom. But be wary about the persons with whom you choose to share your dream. Avoid all haters, dream killers, and naysayers, lest they abort your vision before it is birthed.
All that is the easy part. Afterwards, the real work begins.
If your resolutions didn’t make it to the first week, take heart. You haven’t blown it. Instead, 51 windows of opportunities await. Remember that each new day is always an opportunity to start over again.
Plan and prepare, you must. Pray, if you so choose, and I would recommend it. But in the name of everything sacred, please prove Twain wrong, and don’t begin to pave hell. For if that should happen, you might discover later down the road that there’ll be hell to pay.
7 Comments
January 12, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Omg! I nearly died when I saw the S.M.A.R.T. principles. I can’t get away from this friggin concept. I have a branch action plan for Year 2008 that’s due Monday and it has to incorporate it. Ahh bwoi!!!
January 12, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Zelda: I’m with you on your goal for this year.
EA: ROTFL! It’s a sign.