The new year brings a new slate, a chance to reset your thinking. Put the old year behind you and start afresh in 2024. I have always been a huge fan of looking at a new year as a fresh canvas, a canvas I can paint anything I want on. To me that’s exciting! So today I am going to give you an incredibly effective new years resolution masterplan that gives you the best possible chance of success in 2024.
Now before you roll your eyes at ‘new years resolutions’ and say they are a waste of time, just remember that a resolution is really just a goal. The reason many of us fail when setting these new year goals is because of the way we set them, not the goal itself.
Let me explain…
When we typically set a new years goal we tend to think about either what we want to give up or stop ‘Dry January = no alcohol’ or what you are going to do ‘I am going to run 5 x per week’. That’s a great place to start but with many people, after a few weeks of trying we somehow lose our focus and return to old habits.
Is this because you’re lazy? Because you lack discipline and willpower?
No, not at all. It’s actually all in how we set up the goal in the first place! The prep is everything.
When I studied personal performance coaching, one of the things they drilled into us was that when you set a goal you must break it down. You need to make sure you have a clear, step by step plan to achieve it with a deadline and accountability to keep you on track.
We were taught a brilliant goal setting model called the ‘GROW Model’ which many of you will have heard me talk about.
It’s one of the best goal setting formulas I’ve ever used and clients love it.
So, to save you the risk of failing on your new years resolutions in 2024, I want to share the grow model with you today. I hope that it helps you not only set a clear target but also follow it through to completion – which is what you really want right?
Ok lets get to it…
The Grow Model
The Grow model is an acronym for
G – Goal: What you want to achieve in 2024
R – Reality: Where are you right now in regarding to the goal
O – Options: What options are available to you regarding this goal
W – Way Forward: What is the best way forward based on the all the information you have collected.
What I wanted to do here is take you through the model step by step with a series of coaching based questions to help you think deeply about what you want and exactly how you can make sure you get it.
Let’s start with ‘G’ the goal and move from there.
TIP: Go through all of the questions for each section, it really helps you look at your goal from many different perspectives and can allow you to gain a deeper insight, which in turn increases your chances of success.
G = Goal:
What is your goal for 2024?
What does success look like with regard to this goal?
When do you want to be in this position?
Taking yourself forward to this date, how will you be feeling having achieved your goal?
What will motivate you to achieve this goal?
Can you see how these initial questions will get you thinking more deeply about what you want and why? Now we move onto R which is the reality of where you are now.
R = Reality:
Where are you now in regards to this goal?
What have you done so far towards reaching your goal?
What has stopped you from doing more?
What is in your control when it comes to your goal?
What is out of your control when it comes to this goal?
What obstacle are you facing?
What have you done before that has helped with this issue?
Exploring the current reality really helps you see where you are right now and what needs to be done to make the next steps. Let’s now look at options you have for reaching you goal.
O = Options
What could you do that would move you one step closer to your goal?
What would your best friend tell you to do?
What else could you do?
Give me 3 more things you could do…
What could you do if you couldn’t fail?
If you could wave a magic wand what would this allow you to do?
If you secretly had all the answers, what would you do?
What advice would a role model give you?
If a friend came to you with this challenge, what would you tell them?
Can you see how asking all these questions will uncover so many potential options that you otherwise might not have considered? I’m sure you have a pretty impressive list of options now so lets move on to the way forward.
W = Way Forward.
Which option feels right to you?
What will you do?
When will you do this?
How will you do that?
What is involved in doing that?
What do you need to make this happen?
What support do you need?
Who can help hold you accountable to follow through on your commitment? (This is one of the big keys to reaching the goal)
What could stop you from taking these actions?
What would need to happen for this not to be a problem?
On a scale of 1-10 how committed are you to taking these actions? (We are looking for a 10 here, if you score lower then go through the process again and explore more options)
And that’s the end of the exercise!
How do you feel about your goal now? Whenever I go through this process I am always shocked at how much more confident I feel in what needs to be done, and that’s because you have really looked at the goal and broken it down to find the best route forward for you.
Before I sign off, if you are reading this and perhaps you aren’t sure where to start with goal setting for 2024, I would recommend doing another exercise called the wheel of life. This allows you to see what areas of your life that you are happy with and what areas are perhaps lagging behind. Once you see your complete wheel it can really help you in choosing some new goals and targets to improve your life.
Happy new year to you all and I hope this blog helped you today. If you have any questions then please drop me an email” [email protected] or send me a WhatsApp: 07716755012.
