The New Year always brings out the desire to make resolutions with most people. I have written about this countless times and I will be brief this time. I am going to be brief because I know all of you are busy and just want the meat and potatoes of the information I am about to give.

This will be all buff and no fluff so pay attention.

Resolutions Suck

First off, I am not a fan of resolutions, never have been, never will be. Resolutions are doomed to fail.
I am a fan of goal setting, and goal achieving.

The key to getting shit done is to set goals, NOT making resolutions.

The goals could be for the day, for the week, for the year, for life it does not matter.

Just set them.

When setting goals, it is always wisest to set a long term goal and milestone goals. Doing it this way helps you to achieve your goals.

Let’s use something out of the realm of what I normally write about. I’ll do this so you can see that it does not matter what your goal is. I normally would write about a fitness based goal.

Not today.

Let’s use getting your first motorcycle as a goal.

In order to get a motorcycle you need to have a few things, money, and the ability to ride one. With that in mind, let’s assume you are a 14 year old kid who has no money, doesn’t know how to ride a bike and you want to have a motorcycle when you get your license at 16 and a half.

Let’s review the goal setting process.

Our long term goal is to own and ride motorcycle. In order to reach that goal, you’ll need to do a few things like learn to ride a bike and have some loot.

With that in mind, let’s set the short term goals.

You need to identify what kind of bike you are getting and how much it costs as well as factoring in the cost of rider training. Let’s assume you settle on a price of $3000.00 for the bike and $300.00 for the training.

You have 2 1/2 to save $3300.00. That is 30 months which breaks down to $110.00 a month.

Seems pretty reasonable right?

Well to someone who did not make a plan and set up the short term goals I am about to review it may seem insurmountable.

First short term goal: get a job and make money.

Any job will do if you are 16.

A word on jobs.

Take pride in your job no matter what it is.

If your job is cleaning horse stalls and shoveling crap, be the best crap shoveler in the business.

Why?

Your work is a reflection of you as a person. Do you want to be known as the person who has no pride in themselves or their work and is viewed as an incompetent?

Would you rather be known as the person who does a bang up job and will do their best no matter what the task?

If you didn’t identify with the last statement stop reading right now.

If you did, let me tell you, an employer will take notice of this and will promote you and that gets you more money. More money gets you closer to your goal. Having a boss that knows you are valuable sets you up for success in other areas. I’m getting off topic.

OK, you’ve got a job.

Now you need to make sure you make enough to save $110.00 a month. That should be easy. A 16 year old doesn’t need too much cash. This is where having a goal comes into play. When you get your check, is it more important to you to have a new pair of kicks or to reach your goal of having an awesome motorcycle?

Hopefully you are getting the idea.

Your next short term goal is to scout out rider training. You need to learn to ride the bike safely so you don’t kill yourself. Find a school.

Now you know where you will go when the time comes to learn to ride.

Next short term goal: Saving the Money

Go to the bank and look at 6 month CD’s. You are now learning to invest your money and make it work for you. Sure, a CD doesn’t pay much, but it will penalize you for taking the money out. That’s what you want; a way to save. Put your cash in a 6 month CD and at the end of 2 ½ years you’ll have all of your money plus a little interest.

Before you know it, 2 ½ years have gone by and it’s time to go to school, learn to ride and buy a bike for only $3000.00. Don’t spend more. I can write a whole series on why you need to buy a beater bike the first time but that is off topic.

Just learn from my mistakes here.

You can see that by setting up a long term goal and some short term goals you will be on the path to success.

This process works for anything!

Fitness, health, careers, whatever you want. If you take this and adapt it to your health in January, you’ll be well on your way to the super jacked version of your current self by summer.

Good luck.