80% Quit New Year's Goals by February. Here’s How to Stick With Them:

Happy New Year Fam! ?? Today you’re joining almost 19k+ founders and entrepreneurs curious about building an online voice. If you want these stories sent to your inbox, subscribe here. If you enjoy reading the Personal Brand Brief, forward it to a friend. ??

Let’s Set The Table:?

?? Problem:

According to the U.S. News & World Report, 80% of people fail their New Year's resolutions by mid-February.?

?? Solution:?

Executing on our goals shouldn’t be “tasks” but part of our daily lifestyle. The moment our goals feel like work, we give up. Let’s turn your lofty goals into daily habits and be the 20% that keep their word when we set a goal.

Surprise surprise, 2022 has arrived! ??

The buzzword of the month is “goals” and I wanna jump onto something that we rarely talk about: Over 80% of people never achieve their NY goals. That’s insane.

And after chewing on this, I think it’s because all of us approach goal-setting wrong.

Why do I say that?

• Most people set targets but not the momentum needed to reach them
• We either over-or-underwhelm ourselves which leads to giving up?
• We’re more inclined to focus on “how much” we do rather than “what” we do?
• We don’t have proper accountability that’ll push us to win

“So what’s the antidote, Joel?”?

Buckle up and I’ll tell ya.?

How To Set Goals That Move The Dial

Something Bill Gates said always sticks with me:

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

We love to be over-ambitious and we end up selling ourselves short. Instead, we need to tap into the power of consistency and find meaning in small wins that drive you towards your bigger goals.

To don’t: “I’ll lose 10 pounds in 6 months.” ?

To do: “I’ll work out for 20 minutes 5x / week while listening to my XYZ podcast. I’ll text XYZ after each session and if I miss one I’ll e-transfer them $10 ?

See what we did there? We set accountability parameters.

Set yourself up for winning by making it super easy for you to win.?

a) Preparation is your best friend ??

Too tired to wake up early? Can’t find the momentum to hit your habit? Try habit stacking your goal the night before.

I have my airpods waiting on my treadmill the night before I go to bed. This way, I wake up, walk to the airpods, and put on my shoes. I also text a workout friend a photo of me mid process so they can see I’m sticking to my word.

And voila! I didn’t miss more than 5 workouts in 2021.

b) Build your goals into your daily routine

Goals are essentially about making tiny lifestyle changes. If you want to achieve a lofty goal, you need to build a daily habit.

Once you have a daily routine set, you can forecast progress each week and each month of the year.?

Turn your 1 year goal into a monthly goal, then weekly, then daily. By being obsessed with the details and working the daily habit into your day, you’ll be off to the races.

c) Divide and conquer

Split your goals into categories and map out how each goal aligns with a purpose.

Last year this is how I divided my goals:?

• Personal: Go out for a date night every Thursday with my wife - an actionable goal that protects my marriage.
• Work: Launch and execute a cohort class for 100 people - a teaching goal I wanted to hit by using platforms like Thinkific and Maven.?
• Travel: Plan an out-of-Canada trip once a year - I ended up visiting France with a friend and planned it months in advance.
• Health: workout 4x a week for 30+ mins. I had an accountability friend that I texted a photo to 4 times a week and if we didn’t text the photo we had to send each other $20.?

You can spend an hour or two categorizing your goals - Make 20 and try splitting them into 5 themes. These categories should be the ones that are aligned to your bigger vision.

I tallied my wins and losses for my 2021 goals and finished at 78%. That’s a great spot for me. I think higher than 90% is too easy and lower than 60% is too hard.

I failed on a couple goals and that’s totally okay. I didn’t get 1,000 subs on my YT channel and that’s okay, I focused on the newsletter.?

I didn’t get to speak at 12 conferences and that’s okay, I pivoted to virtual company workshops instead.

Goals aren’t set in stone. You’re allowed to pivot them.

Let your goals in 2021 evolve as the world evolves. Leave space to adjust and keep your end goal in mind.

Steal These Templates ??

1. An extensive must-read blog on Fear-Setting by Tim Ferris – Tim lays an excessive amount of importance on defining your fears and it’s true.?

When you know what you don’t want or where you don't want to land, it becomes easier to progress in the right direction.?

2. The OG Goal Setting Guide by Sahil Bloom:??

3. Valuable advice on beating all odds by Chris Hladczuk:?

That’s all for goal-setting folks.?

Hope it’s as enjoyable a process for you as it was for me :)?

?? RIFF OF THE DAY

I let the cat out of the bag about a new role I’m taking on in 2022. It’s at LOI Venture as their new Head of Marketing. I’ll still be keeping up the newsletter and some other projects but I’m really excited to get started. Question for readers: should I write an article on what drew me to the vision? Let me know.

Thanks for reading. I try hard to make it worth your time. Got feedback? Let me know.

Stay outta’ trouble and catch you next week.

??? Joel

Wanna learn more about building your voice online? Check out my 2022 Spring Cohort Class.

You can also learn more about my work on my Website, Twitter or LinkedIn.