So many people start the new year with their resolutions and goals with optimism, but then fail to reach them or quit. Why? There are many reasons, but something I noticed is that many people set themselves up for failure when they set their goals. Ironically, I believe you can improve yourself as an individual by being part of a team.
Create a Network
Who you have on your team is more important than how many people are on your team. It only takes one negative person on your team to sabotage any chance of success. Find people who are working on achieving the goal and have the hunger to follow this through. Id argue it’s better to focus on people who actually do something instead of people who over analyze the situation. Sometimes people talk themselves out of a goal because they feel it’s too difficult.
Don’t limit your circle to only friends in close proximity to you. They don’t have to be neighbors to help you be effective, as long as you can communicate regularly with each other. I like to use either my phone or text to keep in touch with my sister in law with our fitness goals.
Break the Goal Down
After you decided on the goal, whether it’s losing weight, earning more money, increasing your volunteering, or whatever else you came up with, break it down into smaller steps. Keeping it manageable makes it sustainable, which is the key to success.
Be Accountable to Each Other
Now that you’ve set the goal and have smaller milestones to reach it, keep track of your progress, whether good or bad. Having someone else to share with that wants you to succeed keeps you honest. You may want to try keeping a spreadsheet and share it online with the team. Every week you can update the group on your progress. Writing it down can be a huge help as it can be hard to accurate access our own progress.
I had some goals in 2009 that I really wanted to get done. Having a blog has helped me achieve personal finance goals faster than if I did it on my own. Part of it has to do with being accountable to my readers. Every month I review my progress and I didn’t want to explain why I failed. Instead I use the monthly updates as a motivator to find a way to achieve my goals.
How about you?
What team goals do you have? Who is on your team?
I think accountability is massive and sharing your goals can definitely increase accountability. great post
Agreed. My new year’s resolution this year has been to eat breakfast every day. I didn’t immediately think of a team as my enabler, but it has definitely helped to have a roommate who also likes to drink coffee in the morning. A pot of coffee for two motivates me so much more than a pot for one, and as a result I’ve been able to stick to this resolution for more than a month!
Great post. Any time you can involve others with your goals, you’re going to be better off than doing it alone. When you involve others you get a sense of accountability. If i shout to trusted friends about a goal I’m working on…I’ve now added an embarrassment factor if I don’t work towards that goal. You also get people that push you and keep you on track.
Great ideas, Laura.
Thanks for the comments! I’m fortunate to have a close network of friends as we try out projects. They have been supportive of my freelance writing and we have exchanged tips with one another.
The power of a team is amazing. In working with business, project, and leadership teams over many years I have noticed that when team members hold each other accountable, everyone performs at a higher level because team members simply don’t want to let each other down. Great post!
I’m a fan of having a group of folks who can help dominate each other. I’ve usually preferred the term “personal board of directors” for this type of stuff.
I have experimented with meeting with these individuals on occasion (as time allows rather than something that is a set time at regular intervals). I found that I’ve been able to establish some great relationships with some truly talented people with a ton of experience, which has helped me both personally and professionally.
Fantastic advice. I totally agree.
What great timing! Over the last couple of days I’ve been thinking about setting up an Artist’s MasterMind Group. I want a group of 3-7 people who are/are working towards becoming professional artists. We will have weekly meetings to keep in touch, and where we can discuss our progress thus far, and what we (as a team) will do in the following week.
As long as we get a decent group, I can only see such a team helping all of us reach our goals faster than we would individually.
I guess this post is a sign that I’ve got the right idea. Thanks for the push!
(If anyone might be interested, shoot me an email!)