Mark Twain once said: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started; and the secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small, manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”  More than a century later, this is still true and that’s why planning is so important.

Plans are crucial in developing and maintaining your ambition for success.  They’re also extremely helpful when you’re trying to reach a goal.  Whether you’re deciding to quit smoking, lose weight, begin an exercise routine or any number of health goals, a plan will not only help you reach your goals, it will help you stay motivated.  Here are a few items to include in your plan:

Goals

Of course you likely already have a goal in mind.  Maybe you want to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise more or feel less stressed.  A good goal is a goal that is measurable.  For example, how much weight do you want to lose?  How much do you want to work out?  Good goals are also timely.  When do you want the weight gone?  When will you absolutely have your last cigarette?  Your goal also needs to be realistic.  Does your goal make sense for your lifestyle?  If you want to run five miles a day but you work ten hour days, it might not be feasible.  How can you make your goals fit into your life?  Maybe instead of five miles a day, you run three miles a day during lunch and ten miles on Saturdays.

Rewards

How are you going to reward yourself?  Rewards are important for keeping the motivation alive.  However, they can also derail you from your goal if the rewards are inappropriate.  For example, if you’re on a strict, no sugar plan and you reward yourself for a week with no sugar by eating a piece of cake, then you just set yourself back.

However, if you reward yourself with a massage, a night out at the movies or a treat that you would enjoy that isn’t full of sugar, then that is an appropriate reward you can look forward to and feel good about.  Make the rewards fit the accomplishment.  If your large goal is to run three times a week and you’re starting with an initial goal of running once a week, reward yourself for running once a week with a smaller reward like a new song for your iPod.  And when you reach the goal of running three times a week you, reward yourself with new running clothes or a new pair of jeans.

Steps you’re going to take

Any large and lofty goal needs a plan, a plan that will include steps to take to achieve your goal.  For example, if you set a goal of losing 50 pounds, how are you going to do it?  Certainly losing 50 pounds cannot be accomplished overnight.  Perhaps a tiered plan of losing five pounds a month would be easier to achieve, with the end goal of losing 50 pounds in ten months.  Now you can break down each month into tangible steps. For example, losing five pounds a month will likely require dietary and physical lifestyle changes.  What will you need to change in your life to reach your goal each month?

What will you do when you have setbacks?

Setbacks will happen to most people, just like bad days will happen.  It can be extremely helpful to plan how you’re going to handle any setbacks.  For example, will you journal about the setback to help you understand why it happened?  Will you rally your support group around you when you feel on the verge of a setback?  How will you make setbacks okay?  How will you power through the tough times and keep working toward success?

What you’ll do when you attain your big goal?

This is the fun question, once you reach your goal - and you will - what will you do?  Will you celebrate by yourself or with friends and family?  Will you rent out a blimp and announce your success to the world in bright lights?  Will you document your success so you can refer to it when you feel the need to reflect?  Will you keep the ball rolling and set another goal to attain, now that you know how to do it like a pro?  Well, the answers are obvious, once you’ve got it, planning and winning become your second nature.

the importance of planning

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 7:41 am and is filed under Goal Setting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.