We’re about a week away from June 30, which is also the halfway mark of 2014.
Pretty hard to believe isn’t it?
It’s almost time for the 4th of July and it’s a really great time for reflection. If you haven’t gone back and looked at your 2014 goals, now is the time. Every all-time great coach understood the art of making halftime adjustments to win. This should be no different for you or I. I’m a glass half full kind of guy, and there is half of the year left to achieve my goals. If you don’t have goals written down, do it soon! You have the rest of 2014 to achieve them. Good goals follow the acronym S.M.A.R.T.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Results-Focused
- Timely
In order to help the audience, I’m going to share with you some of my personal goals and precisely where I stand. Although I may not share with you the exact number (for personal privacy reasons), I will tell you what I’m doing about each of them.
- Debt Reduction Goal – My wife and I had the goal to have zero debt (with the exception of our house) by August 1, 2014. I can tell you we will accomplish this goal by the beginning of July. This feels fantastic! It provides a tremendous amount of freedom and flexibility for us to attack all that life has to offer without fear.
- Savings Goal – Along with our debt reduction goal, we have a goal to maintain growth in our savings to hopefully build a house some day. I can tell you we’re about 70% along the way to our goal today. Maintaining our current plans should put us in a position to achieve the goal by September or October of 2014.
- Vacation Goal (Unplug Time) – Our goal was to take a great vacation before the baby arrives in August. Beth and I spent five days in San Francisco this spring and it was AWESOME. At the end of this post, there are a few quick pics to document our visit. We relaxed, walked a TON, and enjoyed each other’s company without phone calls, emails, and interruption. I highly encourage you to do this in 2014 if you haven’t already.
- Income Goal – I have a goal to increase my income 35% in 2014. I thought about this a great deal a few months back and I’ve had to reevaluate where I’m spending my time and who I’m spending it with. I had NO chance of hitting my target. I will tell you I got angry with myself and had to reflect on what I was doing to positively impact this goal. I can tell you I’ve seen a great deal of change after a serious self evaluation and I’m excited to see where 2014 ends up. More to come on this at year-end!
- Volunteer Goal – I set a goal to volunteer three times in 2014 at places where I’ve never done ANYTHING for in the past. This would cause me to get uncomfortable, meet new people, and help with others. This next statement is extremely selfish, but it is the truth. When I volunteer, I feel really great afterwards. I need to get my ass in gear on this one. I’ve got six months left to make good on this promise.
- Daily Focus/Meditation Goal – This year I committed to spending a focused amount of time daily clearing my mind and more recently practicing meditation. It’s something I picked up early in 2014 and something I’ve fallen in love with. The goal is to spend 20 to 30 minutes focused on relaxation and transforming my thoughts. The challenge in this goal is the word DAILY. I’m going to work harder on the daily focus of this goal because I can literally feel the results in my efforts when I remain diligent in the process.
I hope you enjoyed my look at a few of the goals I’m attacking in 2014. I hope this will give you the energy and excitement you need to tackle your goals. It’s extremely helpful for me to share these goals publicly for accountability.
ACTION ITEM: Take a moment to review your 2014 goals. If you don’t have them, work some time into your schedule to get them written down. Next, it’s truthful reflection time. What’s keeping you from attaining the goal? Lastly, here is a link to Tony Robbins goal setting workbook. It’s fantastic.
San Fran Pics:
Zac & Beth visit Google World Headquarters
San Francisco Selfie
View from our patio
Golden Gate Bridge
