As the good people at Transitions Group will tell you, YOU NEED TO SET GOALS! But not just any goals! Your goals must be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, based on results, and within a timeline.
Some of my goals for 2014 include some basic things like living comfortably, travelling, having hobbies, and spending time with family and friends. But those aren’t truly GOALS according to our SMART criteria, are they?
So let’s take a look at travelling and spending time with family and friends, shall we? For those who know me, they know that I like to travel many times a year. I enjoy learning about other cultures and coming home to appreciate how good we’ve got it. And I especially love hot places in the Caribbean. And I generally always travel with my wife and son. Sometimes I go with my parents and friends. But I digress…
One of my goals is to visit every place that is named in the Beach Boys’ Song (“Kokomo”). So, yes, I have been to Aruba, Jamaica (Montego Bay), Bahamas, etc. And this year, David Mayzel and I are going to Bermuda in October to teach dentists about dental law. That leaves Key Largo, Florida. So I’ll try to visit it sometime this year to achieve my goal!
Another one of my goals is to be healthier. I think this is something everyone wants. I want to reach a certain weight, eat healthy, work out regularly and stay active. And some people will say: if you’re travelling all the time, particularly with a young family, isn’t it difficult to do so? Nope. I take my little playbook with me, and I put my favourite workouts on it, and I work out in the hotel, or outside, or wherever I’m at. This helps me achieve my goal of being healthy.
Another one of my goals is to be able to present at the Ontario Dental Association’s Annual Spring Meeting. Trust me: it ‘ain’t easy getting to present. So David and I have been hitting the road and presenting at bank-hosted events, universities, study clubs, etc. We’re also recording our presentations, writing blogs, and publishing articles and our eBook in the hopes of getting recognized. We’re hoping that, through all of our efforts to educate dentists about the law, we’ll eventually be asked by the Education Committee of the ODA to present at a future Annual Spring Meeting.
Another goal of mine is to have and make time for hobbies. This helps you maintain your sanity, I believe. So two of my hobbies include: getting better at golf (through lessons and playing courses) and playing guitar. Growing up, I played (and was pretty good) at playing guitar. But then I gave it up. Now I think I would like to get back into it and also because I want to play for my little boy. So I’ve set a deadline for myself to buy a brand new electric guitar with an amplifier, etc.
Another goal of mine is to sample a bottle of Don Julio REAL Tequila ($400 bottle at the LCBO). For those who know me, they know that I occasionally will sip/drink a small amount of premium tequila at social events or with/after a nice meal at home. I’ve tried many different types of tequilas, and I really like it because it’s extremely smooth (for everyone). My favourite tequilas are Esperanto Reserve, Don Julio’s 70th anniversary and 1942, and 1800 Anejo. These tequilas are very common in Mexico and the U.S. But one of my goals this year is to treat myself to a very nice bottle of Don Julio REAL…
So getting back to you… what are you going to put down as your goals for 2014? You absolutely need to WRITE THEM DOWN! You need to work towards them every single day. You need to look at that sheet of paper and see if you’re getting closer to achieving your goals within the time frames you’ve set. And when you look back at 2014 (perhaps in January 2015), you’ll see how much you accomplished. It’s amazing, actually. I look back at 2013 and realize that I accomplished most of the goals I set for myself. Truth be told, it was kind of hard to keep my weight in check during the holidays.
