A word about goals from your principal

Here's a special guest post from Zach from his "Principal's Corner" message at school.

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"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." -Zig Ziglar

Every January people start the talk about New Year’s resolutions. “This is the year I am going to lose weight, exercise, save money, get that promotion,” and so on. By the time the Super Bowl rolls around, many of those same folks are piled up on the couch between a pepperoni pizza and potato skins, and the treadmill is serving as a clothes rack. By March 1^st many don’t even remember their New Year’s resolutions, let alone making any progress towards accomplishing them. Before you know it, December is here again, and you’re in the same – if not worse – position as when the year began.

If you believe as I do that our purpose is to continually work to make ourselves better, then goal setting is an essential task. Setting goals for yourself (or resolutions) is the only way to measure whether or not you are moving forward in your quest to become the best version of yourself.

When you set a goal, you give yourself something to work toward and a time limit to accomplish the task. January 1^st happens to be a convenient time to reflect on the past year’s accomplishments and look forward to what you’d like to do in the new year. If you haven’t done that yet, it’s not too late.

Start by implementing two or three of the following strategies from the list below as you set your goals for 2012.

·      Organize. Define areas that you want to target. These areas may change each year based on your needs. I have four areas I target with my goals. They are:

o   Professional

o   Personal (Individual/Family/Spiritual/Personal Growth)

o   Wellness (Health/Fitness/Nutrition/Mental)

o   Financial

·      Write it down. Writing down your goals forces you to be specific about what you want. I recommend starting with a pen and paper and transferring to your computer once the goals are finalized.

·      Find a replacement. One way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a good one. For example, replace TV time with family time, candy with fresh fruits and vegetables, romance novels with personal growth books.

·      Tell someone. Share your goals with others. This allows others to encourage you and hold you accountable. I have always shared my goals with my wife, Susan. She regularly keeps me on track. This year I even shared my goals with the high school staff. My intention is to expand the number of people that can help to hold me accountable towards my goals.

·      Take baby steps every day. Consistency is the key. Attempt to make progress towards your goal each day.

·      Decide and act. Don’t let mental hurdles prevent you from making decisions and taking action towards your goals. Determine your “WHY” for each goal. Refer back to your “why” when indecision or inaction threatens your progress.

·      Team up. Have a “buddy” to meet with and evaluate you goals regularly. As stated above, my “buddy” is Susan. We take time once each month to examine our goals and evaluate our progress.

·      Celebrate your successes. Every time you reach a milestone, acknowledge your accomplishments in a positive way. For example, if you eat right, exercise, and lose those five pounds, treat yourself to a new sweater or pair of jeans. Celebrating your successes will help remind you why you set the goal in the first place.

If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. It is not too late to set goals for 2012. If you are a student reading this, I urge you to seek out a mentor to help you set goals for yourself. If you are a parent, set goals for yourself and take time to go through this process with your children. 

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Workout of the Day

P90X2 Plyocide, followed by a two-mile interval run

We're in full-on training, hence the two workouts. For what? I'll tell you tomorrow.