The Secret To Accomplishing Your Goals

In the New Year, think about some New Goals.

The New Year is upon us, so you know what means. Its time for a new set of goals.

“But Josh, don’t you mean new resolutions?”  No. I don’t make resolutions.  I set goals.  There’s a difference between the two, and it can be summed up like this: resolutions fail, goals are achieved.

Resolutions are usually course corrections, trying to alter the path of something (usually you).  This means that resolutions are inherently negative in their assumption; resolutions assume that something is wrong and needs to be fixed.

Goal setting is slightly different.  Its positive in its assumption, assuming proactive action and work towards a desired result.  Rather than correcting who you were in the past, goal setting believes in your capacity to be better in the future.

Resolution making and goal setting are two sides of the same coin-making effort towards specific results in the future. it just so happens that one side is negative in its origination and the other is positive.


I prefer to go with positive.  I prefer to go with goal setting.  And I think you should too.  This blog post shows your how.

Step 1: Brainstorm and Select

The first thing you must do is brainstorm some goals you might like to achieve in 2013.  A year is a long time, so feel free to brainstorm a lot of goals.  Remember, these are goals for 2013, not goals to begin on January 1st of 2013, you will have time.

Once you have a list of potential goals written down, select the ones you feel most passionate about.  I don’t limit myself to a certain number, rather, I choose any and all goals that get me excited.

Step 2: Make your goals SMART

Once I’ve chosen my list of goals for the year, I begin to make them SMART.  SMART is a mnemonic device used to help make your goals effective.  It stands for SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, RELEVANT, and TIME-BOUND

Making a goal SPECIFIC means making it clear and defined.  A specific goal has all the w-questions answered, such as ‘What do I want to accomplish’ and ‘Where will it take place’, so there will be nothing vague or ambiguous about it.

A MEASURABLE goal means the goal can be quantified and tracked.  A goal that is measurable is a goal you can determine whether or not you are making progress on it.  A measurable goal has specific answers for ‘how much’ and ‘how often’

It is also important your goal is ATTAINABLE.  Your goal should be possible and achievable, realistic for the world you live in.  You can achieve more than you think you can; this step encourages stretch goals to be made, not extreme goals.

A goal must also be RELEVANT to you.  The goal you make should speak to you and be something that you want to accomplish. Don’t make goals you think you should make, make goals you want to make.

Finally, all goals must be TIME-BOUND.  An appropriate amount of time must be allocated towards your goal and your goal must be achievable based on the actions that you undertake over time.

For each and every goal, I move through the SMART criteria to ensure that all my goals are well written.  A well written goal is an achievable goal.  Here are some examples of the goals I’ve made for 2013 that are SMART:

Meditate at least 10 minutes a day, everyday. 

Practice yoga at least 15 minutes day, 5 days a week. 

Meet or Skype with one new and interesting person ever two weeks for the purpose of learning and networking. 

Attend Dean's wedding in Tuscany.

Step 3: Time and Money

Creating goals is only half the battle.  For most goals the real effort made towards achievement is rarely the act of doing-rather the difficulty is marshaling the resources to invest in it.  Those resources fall into two categories-time and money.

Being financially upfront with your goals is critical to achieving them because quite often when we make a goal, we are actually making a goal to save money to achieve that goal.  A late realization of the amount of money a goal costs is extremely discouraging.

The best way to view this is to estimate the cost of your goal and then divide it by 12. That would be your monthly savings towards achieving that goal.  If you follow a monthly budget, roll the additional monthly goal cost into your budget.

If you do not follow a monthly budget there is still value in seeing what 1/12th of the cost of your goal is.  It makes the goal more immediate in the need to be actionable in saving for it and more reasonable in the amount of money needed.

Doing a quick analysis of time commitment is also necessary preparation for each of your goals.  I like year long goals because it a reasonable amount of time to mentally prepare and execute goals, but also allows the ability to shift our focus to and from and back to the goal, all while still staying within deadline.  But, how much time are you actually asking from yourself when you are setting a goal?

Some goals take no extra time at all because you already make time for it.  An example of this would be cooking one new recipe a week for the person who already cooks often at home.  Other goals, for the sake of initial planning, take no extra time because the goal itself involves taking time off.  An example of this would be going on a vacation to Thailand.

However, many goals are focused on forming new habits.  You are not in the habit of the routine so you are not in the habit of making time for the routine.  In general, if you are not in the habit of acting on the goal in question and it takes more than 20 minute, it makes sense to schedule it into your day.  For more information on successfully scheduling in all that you want to accomplish in your day, check out THIS POST.

Here is how I analyze the same goals as above for Time and Money.

Meditate at least 10 minutes a day, everyday.
-cost: nothing
-time: to be scheduled into day 

Practice yoga at least 15 minutes day, 5 days a week.
-cost: minimal. Already paying $18/month for yogaglo membership
-time: to be scheduled into day 

Meet or Skype with one new and interesting person ever two weeks for the purpose of learning and networking.
-cost: nothing
-time: 30-60 minutes, once every two weeks. 

Attend Dean's wedding in Tuscany.
-cost: estimate about $2200, including airfare (~$183/month)
-time: request time off, estimate about 5-7 days

Following these steps, brainstorming and selecting goals, making them SMART, and analyzing the time and money commitment they require, is the best way you can set yourself up for success as you prepare to execute your new goals in 2013.

How do you plan your goals?  What are your goals for 2013?

How To Wake Up Happy Everyday

Sometimes the arrow is more important that what its pointing to

Right now I’m at a really good point in my life-looking ahead, I see opportunity and success.  Its not so much that the world is my oyster, but rather I’ve begun to see that the world is a buffet of oysters and there’s enough for everyone.  And the reason I feel this way is I’ve become confident in the trajectory, or direction, my life is heading in.

Trajectory is different from a goal or endpoint.  Honestly, its too difficult to pinpoint exactly where any of us will end up beyond a couple months.  I’m talking about the momentum behind me, pushing in a direction.  And this momentum builds as our life experiences, decisions, and values begin to accumulate and coalesce.

Throughout my years of teaching and training, I’ve realized that, though I love teaching, I dislike teaching in high school or college.  I’ve also gained enough experience to realize I’m really good at strategic planning and executing on those plans.  I’ve learned I like working with teams and with technology.  I’ve developed a love for traveling, yoga, and writing; all things I want to take with me in my life.

A few years ago, I focused on the endpoint result.  I focused on the specific company to work for or position I wanted.  I focused on planning for specific experiences I assumed I would enjoy.  All my energy was devoted towards getting to that endpoint.  Now, I focus on those things I love.  I’m confident that, though I don’t know where I’ll end up, if I stay true to what makes me happy I will get to places and positions where I can be extremely happy.

So how do you establish your own trajectory?  There are three focus areas when working to establish momentum in life: interests, values, and introspection.  The more you work on one, the clearer the others become, they are self-reinforcing.  Similar to the momentum you want to establish in life, the more you clarify each area the easier it is to identify the others.

As you work on establishing momentum in life, its important to figure out what actually interests you.  This requires commitment; commitment to experiment with lots of new things in hopes of finding one you like and a commitment to stick with some potential hobbies beyond the frustrating ‘I’m no good at this because I just started’ phase.

Its important to identify a variety of interests because often you enjoy what you’re good at and become good at what you enjoy.  Through developing interests you will more easily see common skill sets you possess.  And skills which we observe in our hobbies are easily transferred into marketable skills for jobs you would enjoy, even if you hadn’t previously thought the job was a viable career path.

Values is another area that is necessary to identify.  For interests you’re discovering ‘What do I enjoy doing?’; for values, you’re discovering ‘What makes me happy?’  This helps identify how your life can be structured so your default state is one that encourages happiness.  The ideal would be a life scheduled with activities and appointments that fit within your value system, instead of having the feeling that your values are at odds with your life.

Travel is a value I possess-I value being able to travel.  Thus, it made sense to begin thinking about a career change from a job which allowed minimal time to travel.  A healthy lifestyle is also something I value, so it makes sense for me to look at cities that encourage this type of living.

Identifying our interests and clarifying our values is important in establishing a life trajectory we can find satisfaction in.  Introspection allows us to be proactive in achieving this and ensuring we stay on track.  Moments of introspection and self-discovery are the times you reflect on whether or not you are actually moving in a direction that makes you happy.

Introspection also encourages openness.  The more in sync you become with yourself, the more in sync the world becomes with you and when that happens all sorts of weird coincidences and synchronicities begin to appear.  Introspection helps you remain open to these moments and further pushes you along.

Think of your trajectory as a fun slide at a water park.  In those first few moments you inch yourself forward; thats the effort you put into discovering those initial interests and values.  Soon you are moving along and having a great time, through no effort of your own; this is the time where your interests and values compliment and reinforce each other.  The raised edges on curves and heightened walls on the slide keeping you from flying off represent the introspection necessary for keeping you on the right path.

In my life, I’ve always been confident.  But this was a confidence in myself and my ability to ‘figure it out’.  Right now, I feel confident in my life’s trajectory, which is something I haven’t really felt before.  Its confidence in the direction I’m heading.  I may not know exactly where I’ll end up, but because I’m satisfied with how I’m getting there I know it will work out fine.

As One Journey Begins, Another Ends

Recently I had dinner with an old friend.  I hadn't seen him in 5 years and it was great to catch up and reminisce over fantastic nights that probably should have ended hours earlier and other Boulder stories.  I felt he was in a somewhat similar mental space as I am right now, excited and filled with enthusiasm for moldable an unknown future can be.

We talked a lot about what we had been doing and where our lives might take us.  One phrase often repeated was 'Why wouldn't this work!?'.  I really liked the mentality this question presses into you; 'What could possibly stop us from doing exactly what we want to do?'.  Its a question that helps one stay positive and optimistic about what the future may become.

I'd like to thank all of you for reading my emails and posts these past 2+ years.  To know that there were people back home interested in, and proud of, what I was doing was a continually comforting thought.

Now that I'm back from Peace Corps I've decided to conclude these semi-weekly emails.  However, I will continue to document my life adventures on a regular basis on my blog, joshehr.com.  If you would like, you can also sign up to receive email updates from that site (or email me back and I'll do it for you).  I hope it will be worth checking out, this will be a big year-traveling through SE Asia, releasing new products, and more.  I tell you what i tell myself: it will be good!

Additionally, if we're not already connected on LinkedIn please send me an invitation.  And if you feel so moved to endorse me I would greatly appreciate it as I begin my job search.  Connect with me on LinkedIn HERE.

Finally, I'm really excited to announce my second iPhone app, Tap Timer; a simple to use Timer that completely one-ups what comes standard on your magical glowing iOS device.  Tap to start it, tap to stop it, hold to edit it; run multiple timers at once, name them and choose from your iTunes for an alarm.  Check it out HERE.  (And if you missed it, check out Top 3 HERE)

Thanks for all the support over the years and thanks so much for reading what I've put out there and I hope I can continue to catch up with you on the blog.