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Chances are, if you’re reading this blog, you’ve made some finance-related New Year’s resolutions at one point in time. Maybe you’ve made some for this coming New Year. The sad fact remains that most of our New Year resolutions fail within the first quarter of the year. I think I know why. And I’m going to tell you.
Most resolutions fail because we treat them like New Year’s resolutions. Tell me, in August, are you still pumped to do the thing you set out to accomplish this year? Do you approach it with the same tenacity you did in the first few weeks of the year? Of course not. Most of what we set out to do needs to be broken down into smaller accomplishments. Take a large goal and plan to hit certain milestones along the way. Plan to get to a certain point by the end of January, and then have another milestone ready to go for February. Or it could be that you approach your financial goals on a quarter by quarter basis.
For example, if your goal is to pay off your debt in this upcoming year, set mini goals within that goal. If you’re going to make it happen by year end, where will you need to be at the end of each quarter? Then focus on the first of those mini goals. Once you get to the first milestone, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and can press on towards the next one with a renewed sense of purpose, invigorated by the sweetness of victory.
Of course this concept works with any goal or resolution, but it is most easily translated into finance goals because those can most readily be quantified. Once quantified, they are easy to break down into smaller goals. There are many clichés that speak to this concept: Rome wasn’t built in a day; elephants are eaten a bite at a time; the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – all of these, though trite, point to the wisdom of breaking down your goals into smaller pieces and focusing on a single piece at a time. Try it this year and see if this small change in perspective can yield huge dividends for your personal finances.
