The Canadian educator and hierarchiologist Lawrence Peter once said: ‘If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.’

Indeed, as the New Year is just around the corner, you might be probably thinking of a New Year’s Resolution. Or probably your search history is filled with how to achieve goals? 

Have you ever wondered why New Year’s Resolutions typically only last for a month or so? Or why reaching your desired goal can feel so challenging? According to the virtue map by Redditors, have you considered that there could be prerequisites to successfully achieving your goals?

Your goal should be precise 

As Tina was planning to lose some weight, she simply said: ‘I need to lose 5 to 10kgs,’ to which I asked: ‘When you say lose weight, then by how many kgs? And how many inches would you like to lose? Is it 5? Is it 6? 7? 10? ‘

Here, Tina wasn’t precise. Now imagine what if she only lost 5 kgs, when she might probably want to lose 10? 

As Israelmore Ayivor advised: ‘Don’t go in for the “yellowish” if what you need is “yellow”. The attitude called precision is the quality that remarks the accuracy of your demand. Never settle for the less; go for the exact thing.’

Your goal should be time-specific

Now, while Tina just said that she wanted to lose some weight, my next question was: ‘By when (month/year) would you like to achieve your desired weight? In the next three months? In the next six months?’

Setting specific goals helps you to measure your progress at your own pace.

Your goal should be practical

After discussing Tina’s desired weight and the amount of time she would need to reach there, I wanted to make sure Tina understands that she can’t probably expect herself to lose 10 kgs within 10 days.

It should be your own goal

This one is my favourite. Finally, I asked her are you losing weight because your boyfriend Joe wants you to? Or because your Parents and Relatives want you to? 

Or is it only you who wants to do it for yourself.

Moral of the story

I’d like to share this advice from Andrew Carnegie, who was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist: ‘Setting a Goal without considering the prerequisites is like planning a trip without an itinerary. If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.’

Sanjna Purohit is a human being with two eyes. She likes to eat food and drink water.