New Year’s resolutions have an abysmal failure rate – something like 80-90 percent of us fail at them. If you’re goal-challenged – like I was – I want to help you set and achieve at least one goal this winter. But instead of using that word that makes all of us shudder, I prefer ‘Ungoal.’ Here are 6 easy Ungoals for the Goal Challenged.
Small Steps
Ungoals are simple, easy to accomplish, and create positive energy in your life. Dave Ramsey always says to pay off your smallest debt first, that gives you an early and easy success. A quick win is crucial to keep you going when there is a mountain of debt. And a quick win is crucial to keep us going when we are goal-challenged.
Researchers agree that small steps are the way to success. For a health related goal, for instance, changing your entire diet overnight has a high failure rate. Even when heart patients are in dire danger of having a heart attack, 86% of them cannot successfully change their diet. But research proves that tiny, incremental changes over time are both doable and sustainable.
Robert Collier said, “Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out.” Every step to success is only 18 inches long. It’s important to have a big goal in mind, but if it can’t be broken down into small steps it can never be accomplished. Ungoals are an attempt to help us focus on the small steps.
Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” We will all fail at times on the road to success. But if failure is seen as a way to learn something new, we don’t have to be sidelined by it. Merely pick yourself up, brush yourself off, and get back on the road. Falling doesn’t mean failing.
It’s about the journey. Albert Einstein wrote, “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of virtue.” The journey of treading on: courageously picking ourselves up every time we fail, re-evaluating our route, trudging on with determination – these things are what transforms us – it’s about the journey, not the destination.
Below is a short synopsis of each of the 6 Ungoals. All of them can be found in my new eBook, 6 Ungoals for the Goal Challenged. If you would like to receive this free ebook, just click the title to start the process.
In addition, you can also click the link at the bottom of this post, “Click for free Ebooks and other gifts from Deb.” You will receive 3 free eBooks, and quarterly newsletters along with a free download just for being you!
Here are 6 suggested Ungoals to get you started. The eBook contains worksheets for you to keep track of your Ungoals.
Ungoal 1: Just Breathe
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, “He who breathes most air lives most life.” If you’re like most of us you don’t think about breathing much. Benefits of healthy breathing include improved metabolism, calmness, ph balance and energy. If you struggle with insomnia, fatigue, allergies, anxiety, poor concentration, or tooth decay you might want to set an Ungoal to Just Breathe. Download 6 Ungoals for the Goal Challenged.
Ungoal 2: Just Love
Loving is essential to life. Without love babies can die, because lack of physical affection will shut down their production of growth hormone and immune system. If you lack love – give love. Nothing can cure the isolation and detached feelings like reaching out to someone else in love. Just love. Download 6 Ungoals for the Goal Challenged.
Ungoal 3: Just Drink Water
Water is essential for health, but around 40% of adults fail to drink enough water every day. All kinds of health problems occur because of lack of hydration. Stress, indigestion, fatigue, weight gain are all affected from lack of water. Here’s an easy and free way to attain an Ungoal: just drink water. Download 6 Ungoals for the Goal Challenged.
Ungoal 4: Just Rest
If you have a habit of setting health-related goals, but have not achieved any of them, maybe you could start with rest. Winter is the perfect time to focus on rest. Because of the short days, our internal body clocks require more sleep. It’s cold and dark outside, and we just want to curl up and take a nap. Why not set an Ungoal to just rest? Download 6 Ungoals for the Goal Challenged.
Ungoal 5: Just Smile
Did you know that just holding your mouth in the shape of a smile actually decreases the body’s stress response? When we smile we are more attractive and we seem more successful. Smiling releases endorphins, which are natural pain killers. Smiling boosts our immune system. Who couldn’t use a boost this winter? Is your Ungoal to just smile? Download 6 Ungoals for the Goal Challenged.
Ungoal 6: Just Listen
How often do you pause to really concentrate on the sounds around you? Deep introspection, concentrative listening changes us. Most of us try to multi-task, thinking we can do two things at once. I’ve been on the phone with some people and I can hear the click-clack of a keyboard in the background. Scott Peck said, “You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.” Or brains are not capable of multi-tasking. What would happen if we could stop a few times a day and just listen?
Click 6 Ungoals for the Goal-Challenged to start your journey to accomplishments.
Why Ungoals for the Goal Challenged?
January is the traditional time to make resolutions, to set goals for the new year. Bah Humbug! I think setting goals in January is the worst possible time of year to do so. I have two reasons for that.
One December I actually received an email that proclaimed if I hadn’t already set my New Year’s goals I was behind the 8-Ball! I don’t know about you, but December is the busiest month of the year for me. On top of my normal activities, there are Christmas parties, decorating, shopping, wrapping, baking, etc. I surely don’t need to add one more thing to December. I don’t need to be told that I’m behind anything on the first day of the year! How defeating!
The other problem that I see with setting goals in January is that the days are the shortest of the whole year. Our circadian rhythm causes us to need more sleep. Because of the amount of darkness, our bodies produce more melatonin. I believe January is the worst possible time of year to set goals. I prefer to set goals in the spring, when the days are getting longer, the weather is getting nicer, and I have more energy and motivation to work on goals.
So go ahead, hunker down and hibernate a little this winter. Set one or two Ungoals, which are tailor made to create success in your life. Dream about March and plan to set goals then.
As a life coach I like to help other people set and achieve goals based on their personalities. Only about 14% of us are natural goal achievers. That means 86% of us feel like losers. The reason for this disparity is that the authors and speakers who are successful belong to that 14%. They don’t understand the rest of us, and they have no clue how to instruct us on being successful.
But I do understand, I’m one of the 86% who don’t achieve goals…at least I used to be in that group. But with my plan to set goals to match my individual personality and work on them according to my life and my priorities, I do regularly achieve goals. Download 6 Ungoals for the Goal Challenged.
I’m also offering 3 free coaching sessions in 2016. Visit my Life Coaching page for more details.
…because U count, deb