100 Days to My Goal

My birthday is September 22nd and I actually learned a little fact this year that I never knew.  On Sept. 22nd there are 100 days left to the year.  I was really intrigued by this to make a goal for myself to accomplish in those 100 days.  I was intrigued by this 100 days because when a President takes office, ever since FDR even though it's often credited to JFK, there is this expectation for leaders across the world to show what they can do with their own first 100 days.

To be quite honest, I'm not sure it's a great idea for countries to be so aggressive, but for the rest of us setting a 100 day goal is a great idea.  One specific reason is the difference between a dream and a goal is a specific date. A date is concrete, it is specific, it creates a call for action.  A dream is filled with hopes, wants, and wonder, but nothing solid to stand on.  Many goals, probably most goals start with a dream.  Those thoughts where we imagine, wonder, and ponder all the possibilities before us, but if we never move from these we'll only ever have thoughts.  100 days is a tangible and realistic length of time to accomplish many types of things.  Now it may not be enough time for writing a book, losing more than 25lbs, or being ready to climb Mt. Everest, but it can be enough to reach a noteworthy fitness goal, improve a specific part of your business or job, lose 10-20lbs safely, or complete a home project.  

So we take these thoughts and start to make a plan and set that goal with specific pros and cons, challenges and solutions, steps, actions, and very importantly, dates.  These help make us accountable.  It is also important to share this goal with someone who will support you and can assist in the accountability check-in.

As of today, October 3rd there are 89 days, 2141 hours, and 128434 minutes left.  There may not be 100 days left, but there is certainly enough time to accomplish many of the ideas listed above or so many other limitless possibilities.  

All you have to do to start is take that dream and create an "I will" statement.  Such as I will lose lose 10 pounds by December 31, 2012.  Then 3 actions you will take this coming week that are realistic and reachable, but be mindful that they are absolutely doable for you.  If you look to far out in front you may get overwhelmed and throw in the towel before you've even begun.  Week two, evaluate what did and didn't work, reassess, then make 3 more for the following week.  Some of which may be the same ones, they may all be the same ones. This is the critical step to not judge your progress of the 1st week, but evaluate it, then move forward.  Judgement and feelings of failure is what makes us quit so quickly.  By breaking down each week with accomplish-able tasks you stay focused on the now and not be overwhelmed by the final goal.  A great quote I love sums this up perfectly "Many of life's failures occur when people give up without realizing how close they are to success" Unknown.  If more people gave it one more day, one more push, one more get up and brush off, people would get exactly what they're working for.

Go ahead and take on the next 89 days.  Oh yes, you may be wondering what was the goal I set for myself back on September 22nd.  My goal is to have 5 new coaching clients by December 31, 2012.  Why is this my goal.  It is my goal quite simply because I love coaching, I believe in it's power to re-shape lives, and want to help others discover their own endless possibilities.

November 27, 2012 Update - 35 days to go - I am so very close to my goal.  There have been both positives and negatives, but the important aspect is I continue to work and push forward towards the end of THIS particular goal.

So I ask you - what goal did you set for yourself?  How committed have you been towards working for your results?  What has worked, what hasn't worked?  What can you do to make sure it happens?  Keep pushing, keep believing, and keep working.