Setting goals

What are your plans for the new year?

If you’re like a lot of us, you’re setting some goals, better known as New Year’s resolutions. And there’s a good chance – 92 percent, actually – that you’ll give up on them about three weeks later.

Yikes!

We’ve learned a few things here at the Utah Association for Special Districts about successfully reaching our goals, strategies we’re putting into play right now as the Utah State Legislature general session begins. With that in mind, here are a few tips that will put you among the eight percent who actually lose weight, save money, and find love!

• Set goals that are important to you, not that you think others expect of you. What’s your motivation? How will your life change when you succeed?

• Now break it down into a plan of action, with small steps you can take daily to move toward success. You want to lose 100 pounds by next year? Maybe you can begin by limiting the number of sugar-laden lattes you pick up on your way to work.

• Stay flexible! If you realize in the course of pursuing your goal that something isn’t working, switch gears and come at it from another direction. If buying lottery tickets just puts you further in debt, consider slowly building a savings account with the money you save by skipping those lattes! In both instances, it all adds up!

• Celebrate your successes. You’re wearing jeans you haven’t pulled out the drawer since high school? Even if that doesn’t bring you to your goal, it’s worth treating yourself to something fun. (But skip the hot fudge sundae; that would just be, well, self-sabotage!)

• When you reach your goal, savor the sweet smell of success! Tap into the flood of empowerment as you set the bar even higher. Maybe a few months ago, you thought you never had a chance. Now, you KNOW what you can do!

There is nothing like achieving your goals to shut down your fear of failure. And, even if you experience a few setbacks along the way, learn from them and use them to strengthen your resolve. You can do this! This is your year to make it happen!