Goal Setting for the New Year

As we get close to the new year this is a great time to sit back reflect a little on what you have accomplished this year and set your goals for the new year.  I found this great article about setting goals and wanted to share it with you.

Are Your Goals Too Easy? 

Mark Murphy, author of "HARD Goals: The Secret to Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be," says getting from where you are to where you want to be in your career, business and life is more about attempting a difficult target—even if you miss—than attempting an easy target and succeeding. 

"An appropriately difficult goal is going to require you to learn," Murphy says. "It's going to stretch your brain, excite some neurons, amp you up and awaken your senses." 

Murphy's leadership training consultancy studied nearly 5,000 workers across a wide field of businesses, and what he discovered is that HARD Goals engage the brain in a way that is totally different from the goals most people set. What's a HARD Goal? The acronym stands for:

• Heartfelt: You're emotionally attached to it.
• Animated: You've got a vision of its accomplishment.
• Required: You feel such a sense of urgency that you must act now.
• Difficult: You must be challenged by it.

According to Murphy's research, people with HARD Goals are up to 75 percent more fulfilled than people with easy ones. But how can you know if the goal you've set is too hard—or too easy? Take each of your goals and measure them against your comfort zone. You will notice there are five possibilities:

1. The goal is totally within your comfort zone, and feels easy.
2. The goal is "pretty much" within your comfort zone, but not exciting.
3. The goal is a little outside your comfort zone, and makes you nervous.
4. The goal is definitely outside your comfort zone, and makes you uncomfortable.
5. The goal is way outside your comfort zone, and causes anxiety.

While No. 1 Goals are probably only items on your daily to-do list, and No. 5 Goals are probably those you aren't meant to achieve, it's the No. 4 Goals you should pay the most attention to. Goals that take you into uncharted territory but don't leave you paralyzed by anxiety are the ones that will give you the most challenge and satisfaction. 

Try this simple analysis of your goals and see!