It’s New Years Day, and many of us still have not written down any goals for 2017. Do you realize that simply writing down a goal makes it much more likely that you will accomplish it? This past week I reviewed the list of goals that I wrote for 2016. I accomplished almost all of them. Even the written goals that I did not quite accomplish helped me achieve far more than I would have if I had not written them down.
Earlier this year I read a book called Write it Down Make it Happen. The author tells the story of Lou Holtz, a former football coach of Notre Dame University. In 1966, at 28 years old, Lou Holtz had no money in the bank, had just lost his job, and his wife was pregnant with their third child. His wife Beth gave him a copy of a book called Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz hoping it would cheer her husband up. The author encourages his readers to write down all of the goals that they would like to achieve in life. At 28 years old, Lou Holtz wrote down 107 life goals. His list included: having dinner at the White House, appearing at the Tonight Show, meeting the Pope, becoming the head coach at Notre Dame, making a hole in one on a golf course, and jumping out of an airplane. On Lou Holtz’ website, you can read his list and see pictures of him with the Pope, with President Ronald Reagan at the White House, and on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. You can also read a description of what it is like to jump out of an airplane and to get TWO holes in one. Lou Holtz has achieved eighty-one of the 107 goals on his list from 1966.
The simple act of writing down goals makes it much more likely that you will accomplish them.
Do you have any goals written down? What do you want to accomplish in 2017? What longer term goals do you have? Even taking 15 minutes today and writing down five goals for 2017 is a good start. By writing down your goals, you declare yourself in the game. Write it down, make it happen!
Also, Read: How to Write a Life Plan for 2017
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