Hey girl! How are you doing with your new year resolution goals? Now, take a deep breath. How difficult was it for you to answer that question? If the answer was easy and you're on the way to goal achievement then good for you! Keep pushing. Don’t give up and pay it forward. What about the rest of you? I see you, shying away from this screen. If you fell off the new year resolution goals bandwagon, you’re part of the 92% of people who actually never achieve their goals! That’s huge! Let’s dissect here a bit. If everyone met their goals, then, we’d all be happy. Right? So then why are so many of us not achieving goals? The answer, my fellow amigas, is life. We live in a society designed to shower us with temptation. So if you have failed at a goal or several goals, please do not beat yourself up about it. Remember that failure is a necessary part of growth. However, It’s important to first understand what stood in your way this past month. The questions below are meant to help you investigate your lifestyle and commitment to your own goal. Whatever the goal may be. This is your year, mujer. Take some time to journal and reflect:

What happened to me this month that made me forget what I was after, my goal?
What has my environment been like? Messy, unorganized, loud, too quiet, too cold, too much Netflix and chill.
How many people know about my goal? Are they the supportive type? Will they push me when I know I can’t push myself?
How do I push myself?
Did I give it my all? Como?! Did I set reminders, put up post its, alarms, tell my girl to call or text every day to remind me?

So… how did it go? Hopefully, those questions shed some light on some juicy stuff that could be preventing you from reaching your goals. You may have realized that you need to break some habits or create new ones. So easy right? It’s not. When we are living our day-to-day life, es tan facil to lose sight. I mean, how were you supposed to remember to save that extra $5 dollars if you had to buy extra tamales, porque, osea, were in season? Or, how can you get to the gym if you got into a car accident that took forever to get a police report and resulted in some serious back pain? Here’s one I’ve heard quite a bit since the year started. How can I eat healthy right now when I’m feeling so depressed because it’s so cold and there’s been no sun? I want comfort food. Grubhub anyone? Let’s face it. Winters are tough in Chicago. It’s a time where we tend to hibernate, cuddle and eat. Mix in your full-time job and the fact that the sun goes down by 4:00 PM. It becomes so easy to just come home to binge, food and tv shows. Can anyone relate?

Life is tough. Nothing prepares us for how hard adulting can actually get. Which is why people give up on their goals and sometimes, on themselves. We begin to justify our own excuses on why we “can’t” do something. Especially after attempting the same goal over and over again. “I’m just meant to be fat,” a friend told me. Yes! I know, it does feel like a punch in the stomach hearing that. It’s also a perfect example of a mental excuse! Now one can give themselves permission to eat extra pan dulce, miss the gym and just give in to all the temptations. Take a moment to think about your own mental excuses. We all have them, which is why breaking or changing habits can be so difficult. Eventually, it can all pile up. Life, social media, and keeping up with the Lannisters. In order to see some tangible results, it’s time to micro-focus on what you want.

Research has shown that reaching goals is just about developing simple daily habits. As if developing habits can be done at just a snap of a finger. I mean, c’mon. Below is a link to a BuzzFeed article that highlights some of the most powerful habit changing apps.

Habit Changing Apps

Research also highlights a certain power in writing down goals. Below are two proven goal writing methods to help you attack your goals. Both strategies are designed to help you understand how serious you are about the goal. These can be used for any goal you may have. So, orale, ponte las pilas!

SMART Goals

Write down your goals so they are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. No need to even write it in that order. See an example below:

S - Specific:

Get really specific on your goal. I mean color, size, location, whatever your goal is.

M - Measurable:

Make sure your goal is measurable. How long will it take you to save or what will you need to increase your running speed? What do you need to do?

A - Attainable:

This is your opportunity to think outside the box. Think of obstacles. Can you save as much as you want to if you know your Momma’s birthday is coming up?

R- Realist:

Okay, this step is bringing you back down from cloud nine. Can you actually reach this goal now that you’ve started to create your action plan?

T- Timely:

Set a date. Put it in your calendar.

Example: I will save $1000 dollars towards my vacation getaway with my chicas by saving $166.66 every month for the next 6 months. I will do this by depositing $83.33 from each paycheck into my Chase savings account. The money will be completely saved up by August 4, 2019.

2. Whoopie Goals

W- Wishing & H- Hoping:

Surface level of your desire. What do you want? This process gives a lot of mental energy and releases some really good vibes into the universe.

Example: I want a new car!

O- Outcome:

Think about the end goal. The big picture. Actually visualize yourself there. How do you feel? What will you do next? This step can help clarify the intensity of your goal. Pay attention to how you feel. If you’re overjoying with the thought and idea of achieving this, you may be determined enough to go after it, without letting anything stand in your way!

Example: Hmmm, I can smell the leather seats of my brand new red Mercedes. I can see myself driving with my homegirls to North Ave beach on a hot summer day, looking all fly.

O-Obstacles:

Define barriers that will stand in your way. Think about the mental excuses you already give yourself.

Example: This Mercedes is going to cost $34,500. I’m going to need to save up at least $10,000 so my payments aren’t so high. I’ll have to stop eating out, go out a lot less for a couple months and probably get a part-time job.

P-Planning & Process:

Make a plan to overcome your obstacles and mental excuses. This step is crucial to achieving your goal. The plan you design for yourself will make OR break you. Make sure the plan is strong and well thought out. Especially with you, your habits and mental excuses in mind.

Example: Get a part-time job and work till I have the $10,000 saved. Go over my budget and see how much extra money I can save from my part-time job. I need to put up post-its reminding me that this is temporary and it will be worth it for motivation when I feel lazy.

I- Identity:

Think of the person at the other end of the goal. What qualities and habits does she have? Make a list of her qualities and habits, and use them to inspire you. You can even re-think how you think about something.

Example: Even though this is going to be a lot of work, I am the type of person who is willing to sacrifice going out and restaurant food. I am the type of person who is willing to be a little extra tired from working two jobs to get what I want. It’s only temporary.

E- Execution:

Ready. Set. Go. Fast and immediate action is necessary. So make that phone call, enroll in that gym or go online to open that savings account. Right away!

Example: Todo list: 1. Research and apply for jobs that work with my full-time schedule. 2. Chat with my homegirls to inform them of my goal and let them know of my time restrictions. 3. Print out a picture of my Mercedes and post up on my vision board.

Tell us, what tips and tricks to you use to help you achieve your goals?

Feature Image by Plush Design Studio on Unsplash

Got Goals for the New Year? Como Te Va?