I don’t know about you but I’ve always been pretty good at setting goals. I can figure out exactly (usually) what I want to accomplish, do, achieve, learn, or get rid of in my life. For me, that’s the easy part. (The hard part would be continuing to follow through on the dazzling plans I make for myself, but that’s another post entirely.)

Why Resolutions Rock

First, though, a word about the dreaded “R” word: resolutions. I know, it’s fashionable these days to turn up your nose at the thought of making resolutions in the New Year. “They’re impossible to keep,” folks sniff. “And you just end up feeling like a failure. It’s stupid.”

OK, let’s get this out of the way first. No, it’s not stupid to make a resolution. Neither is it stupid to fail at keeping the resolve alive. The problem doesn’t lie with the fact of the resolution itself — it never has. The problem, as always, lies a bit closer to home: with us, the people who make those resolutions.

Resolutions give us purpose and structure to our lives, both at home and on the job. They help us grow as people and as lawyers. They make life interesting! They energize us, propel us forward, keep us striving and trying to do better, and even though we don’t always hit the intended target, we almost always end up further along than when we started.

I’m convinced that the real problem is that most of us have no clue how to set goals. Oh, sure, you’ll probably protest that you do know how. Make them objectively measurable. Put them in writing. Yes, those are very good ideas, and you should incorporate them into the process. But those are mere tips — tools to help you formulate and verbalize the goal (a term I use interchangeably with “resolution” — use whichever term makes more sense to you).

So, before I unveil my own personal set of 2008 goals, I thought a refresher course in how to set goals would be appropriate!

Goal Setting 101

I promise, it’s relatively painless and sometimes even fun. If it isn’t fun, or doesn’t at least give you a fresh sense of empowerment, then either something’s wrong with the goal, or your current state of mind isn’t conducive to goal-setting, and you should put it away and try again later when you feel better.

1. Dream big. Don’t allow yourself to get caught up in the trap of editing your goals too quickly. First, you have to give yourself permission to lower the boundaries, just this once, and think about the huge picture (even beyond the big picture, the huge picture is that vision of the ideal that dances around in the corners of your subconscious).




2. Break it down. Now, take that huge picture apart, and break it down into actionable items. These are the seeds of your goals. Keep revising them until you have those objectively measurable tasks that you feel pretty sure you can reach, with some effort, inside one year.




3. Know what you’re really trying to produce. Here’s a hint: it’s never about the thing you’re after. It’s almost always a feeling. Why do you want to make more money? Just to have it? You get some visceral thrill from knowing you have cash in your account? OK, maybe you do (frankly, I do) but that’s not what you’re really trying to produce. You want the feeling of security that having that surplus of money gives you. So, identify the feeling, as well as the action items that you’ll take to produce that feeling. You might surprise yourself and learn how to evoke those emotions even before you reach the target. Bonus!




4. Get really good reasons, and a lot of them. Your reasons why you’re committed to this goal, and not some other goal, are crucial. They’re your safety net, your lifeline, and your constantly available source of power and strength. Make a list of the reasons, and make sure they’re compelling ones. Why do you want to make more money this year? Because you absolutely must start a college fund for your child, and if you don’t, Junior will never have the opportunities that you did, and he’ll end up pumping gas and playing video games on the weekend in your basement. OK, maybe not, but you get the idea.




5. Now, write it all down. The mere act of writing down a goal has been shown to improve your personal connection with that goal and the likelihood you’ll stick with it.




6. Replace what’s being eliminated with something positive. If there’s one point on the path that people stumble over time and time again, it’s this one: you cannot eliminate a habit, practice, character trait, situation, or set of circumstances in your life without replacing it simultaneously with something that ignites your spirit. Why do folks fail at quitting smoking in such huge numbers? Because they only focus on getting rid of smoking. They forget to replace that habit with a personally-stimulating vision of a healthier lifestyle. They never focus, in short, on what they’re getting in return! Do this one thing for your goals that seek to eliminate, and you’ll triple your chances of success.

The Inspired Solo’s Goals for 2008

As promised (though a day late, thanks to intermittent internet outages locally — again, thank you very much, Time Warner), I’m sharing my own goals for my law practice in 2008. At the end of the year, God willing and the creek don’t rise (thanks, Grandmama P.), I’ll come back and evaluate how well I did. That’s right: publicly. (That’s another good tip: commit to a goal publicly, to friends or colleagues or family for instance, and you’ll improve your chances of remaining committed to it. Nothing like a little public pressure to keep you on track!)

1. Increase client retention rate by 10%.
2. Blog more often and more consistently on practice blogs.
3. Hold at least three marketing events targeted to consumer and bankruptcy clients.
4. Learn more about Truth In Lending Act laws and regulations. (I realize this is a bit “softer” and less measurable than the others, but it’s not tied to a direct business goal – it’s more a personal satisfaction thing. Soft is OK for goals like this.)
5. Attend at least one criminal law CLE.
6. Secure contract with state for appointments. (This is a new pilot program being tested by our Indigent Defense agency as a potential replacement for the current heavy reliance on appointments. For me, it would be a great addition to the bottom line as well as a great way to get into post-conviction relief work.)
7. Write a law review article.

An interesting observation (well, interesting to me, anyway): I always pick seven goals. I don’t know why, mind you, but I always choose seven goals each year. Maybe seven’s my lucky number.

Whatever your lucky number might be, why not challenge yourself to reach a little further, ask a little more of yourself? It takes courage, but the payoff is richly rewarding. And who knows? You might just surprise yourself.