Okay, we’re 43 days into the year, and it’s time to check in on you. How are you doing with your new year’s resolutions? Many of you choose to bypass the annual ritual, but I’m sure some of you set your goals before the new year started. So, are you keeping those resolutions or have some dropped from your list?

The problem with most new year’s resolutions is that we set the goal too far in the future, or we try to make an abrupt 180° change of an old habit. Change is best achieved the same way we walk through a dark room, one small step at a time. We set a small goal and move in that direction. If we run into problems, we can readjust; keeping our mind on where we want to be when finished.

So, if you’ve given up on a new year’s resolution, I want to propose something. Instead of quiting, pick a easier goal with a shorter target date. For example, trying to quit smoking? How about just smoking two less cigarettes a day? Not sure how many you smoke? Then your first goal could be to simply record how much you smoke each day for two weeks. Oh, and don’t be surprised if you smoke a little less simply because you are keeping track.

The idea works with almost any goal. Start with a small step and set a goal of only a couple weeks. Then, when successful, set a new goal, maybe increasing your effort this time. If you are not successful, examine what went wrong and readjust your goal. Don’t get caught up in the “success or fail” attitude. It’s a “success or adjust” attitude that wins in the long run.

Now it’s your turn. Did you set new year’s goals, and how are you doing with them?

[Photo Credit:KentGoldman]

When I started this blog, it was my intention that sharing my story would help keep me motivated. Instead, the blogging (I now have three blogs) has started to get in the way of one of my personal goals. As regular readers will know, I set a personal goal to lose 13 pounds by April 1st. So far, I’ve only lost a couple pounds. It seems that I snack too much while working on my blogs and I haven’t taken time to regularly exercise.

So, I’ve given this some thought and I’ve got to make two important changes.

1. No food allowed in my home office. This should help address the snacking problem and help cut back on the messy office.
2. I will walk or jog for at least 30 minutes, 3-4 times a week. Actually, I like to run with a heart monitor, so I will exercise in my heart rate target zone for at least 30 minutes each time.

That’s it. Making these changes, effective tomorrow, should make the different. In a week or two I will let you know how I’m doing. In the meantime, what other simple suggestions might you offer?

My friend David Rogers at Confident1.com wrote a post about himself titled, “Seven Strange Things You didn’t Want to Know.” It seems that David was tagged as part of a blogging chain of posts where everyone tagged must write 7 weird things about themselves. David, being the kind gentleman that he is, tagged me at the end of his post.

I was actually tagged early in this chain at one of my other blogs where I use a pseudonym. You can read that post here. However, since I was tagged by David at a different blog, I suppose I should write another list. So, keeping with the goal achievement theme of this blog, I’ve decided to post seven strange goal related facts about myself.

1. I ran a half marathon about five years ago. Like David (you really have to read his marathon story!), I am a large man who is not typically considered a runner. But when I was 19 I set five goals for my life, one being to complete a marathon. I have achieved four of the five goals, but have yet to enter a marathon.

2. I graduated college at 19 years of age. I love learning but don’t like waiting to achieve things. (That’s not always a good thing.) I started college while still in high school and then took pretty heavy loads in college so I could finish quickly. I did take a little more time getting my Master’s degree.

3. I’m obsessive about tracking things on charts and spreadsheets. While I write this post, I have Excel opened with a graph of daily traffic on each of my blogs.

4. I have lost over 100 pounds in the past 8 years. Sounds impressive, eh? But here’s the catch…I did this in three different episodes (35 lbs., 48 lbs, and 32 lbs.) and regained the weight back each time. I know how to lose weight, and I’m actually very good at it. It’s just the whole “keeping it off” thing that I struggle with. That is one of the reasons for starting this blog. It helps keep me motivated.

5. I used to play tournament Scrabble at the intermediate level. I even placed third in the first tournament I played (32 players, 22 games, 3 days). I love the game, but I gave it up because of the time commitment. I was studying words for 1-2 hours each day. But it was great to set goals for learning new words and how well I’d do at tournaments. I miss it…some.

6. I once won a prize for being the worse bowler on a league bowling team. I was so proud of the award. Okay, I was only eight, but it was the first thing I had ever won. The bowling pro made such a big deal when he awarded the prize to the worse bowler on each team that we didn’t even think about why we were getting the award. We all loved it.

7. I don’t have all my sh** together. What? How can I write a blog about achieving personal goals when my life is not perfect? Because I’m real. I’m just like you. I struggle with my weight, I’m challenged by my work, and I don’t have the perfect retirement plan. My problem is the disconnect between what I know and the action I take. So, I share what I know and what I learn from others in order to help both of us.

8. Bonus Fact: Two years ago I decided to learn cake decorating. That’s one of my cakes in the photo.

There it is…seven (plus one) strange, but true facts about me.

Okay, now I’ll tag some blogs that everyone should be reading:

• Tom Ross at PushStandards.com - Thoughts of a young entrepreneur and web designer.
• Bruce at YourEdenWork.net - Connecting Christian purpose with Christian entrepreneurship.
• Nikita Knysh at Nikita Knysh’s Blog - Social networking, IT stuff and much more.
• CarpetGuy at OpinionHead.com - If you’re not reading this opinion blog, you should be.

Benjamin Franklin has never been accused of being an underachiever. His resume lists such achievements as inventor, writer, publisher, statesman, scientist, traveler, student, philosopher and organizer. Franklin life was as busy and challenging as any parent or professional in the 21st century.

As early as age 20, Ben Franklin understood the value to setting personal goals and tracking the progress toward those goals. His strategy of writing out his goals and documenting his success help lead him to a life created by choice, not by circumstance. In his autobiography, the 79 year old Franklin wrote about the 13 goals he had set his life 59 years earlier:

1. “TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.”
2. “SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.”
3. “ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.”
4. “RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”
5. “FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.”
6. “INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”
7. “SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.”
8. “JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.”
9. “MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.”
10. “CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.”
11. “TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.”
12. “CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.”
13. “HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.”

Each goal was stated as a virtue that Franklin would strive to achieve. In order track his effort, Franklin used a series of cards which listed the days of the week across the top and a row for each of the 13 virtues. Each evening Franklin would review his day and place a mark beside each virtue he failed to keep. Over time, Franklin was encouraged by seeing fewer and fewer marks on his cards.

The simplicity of this system betrays it’s effectiveness. The steps are clear: select your goals, review each day, and document your success. My own recommendation is that, instead of tracking your failures (like Franklin), give yourself marks for your achievements. Work each day to meet your personal goals and review your efforts each evening. You can record your goals and track your progress on paper, with a spreadsheet, or with a simple software program like the free one available online at JoesGoals.com.

Part of investing is give of our resources to help others. This is an investment into our community and our future. When considering ways to give, you don’t always have to pull out the check book. For example, let’s look at how Alan Johnson turned giving into a win/win proposition.

About a week ago, Alan posted a contest on his blog, TheRatingBlog.com, hoping to gain readers and subscribers. Readers earn entry points into the contest by subscribing, posting comments, and blogging about the contest. But today Alan posted about an additional way to earn points; blog about a list of charities. The idea is to get bloggers to post about these charities AND to get readers to visit the charities on the list. Alan, benefits from the links from those posts back to his blog and the contest. It’s a great way to promote his site while doing some good for others at the same time.

So, here’s the list of charities on Alan’s list and how your click will help:

The Animal Rescue Site - buys .6 bowls of food for rescued animals.
The Breast Cancer Site - helps a woman in need get a free mammogram.
The Child Health Site - helps a child in need get health care.
The Hunger Site - buys food for the hungry.
The Literacy Site - helps a child in need attain literacy.
The Rainforest Site - protects 11.4 square feet of rainforest.

So, click on a charity that interests you and learn more about their work. Then consider some creative ways that you can give of your time or money to help others. It only took Alan a short time to write his blog post, but that small investment of time will have hundred, maybe thousands, reading about these charities.

[Photo Credit:Kris Litman]

As regular readers know, I post my own life goals here on SevenActions as an example of goal setting and to keep myself on track. So, this goal is for the action of working.

My personal goal for work (my day job) is to complete the redesign of our agency website by February 19, 2008.

I work for a nonprofit state association that has really struggled with our presence on the web. The current web design was completed about 3 months ago. Okay, completed is not truly accurate, but the site was redesigned. And it actually is a huge improvement. But there are still problems.

The biggest issue I have with the site is the lack of regularly updated content. I have learned through blogging that websites are most helpful when they keep readers up-to-date with current news and information. So, my strategy for the redesign is to use the blogging platform, WordPress to manage the site. Since content is the biggest problem with the existing site, that will be my primary focus in the redesign.

I hope to have a draft ready for a committee meeting late next week. If they approve, I can complete the site in a week or so. That means this goal is definitely short-term. I will post a link to the new site when it is complete.

BTW, if you have recommendations for the site, please leave a comment or contact me through the new contact form.