2013-Get Ready, Get Set, Set Goals!

Article courtesy of Rebecca "Becky" Sandifer, PhD, ACC, SPHR
AHRMA Past President, Marketing and PR Committee 2013

We made it past the Mayan calendar prophecy so I thought it was a good time to start planning for 2013. Losing weight, starting a business, and getting financially prepared for retirement are all top of the list goals but what I really want to achieve is to be happy in the moment with where I am in life. I recently read Creating Your Best Life, The Ultimate Life List Guide, by Caroline Adams Miller and Dr. Michael Frisch. The bottom line is that happy people are successful.  Interestingly, the major criteria to enter into that blissful state was  goal setting.  Successful, happy people set goals.  No big news there but successful, happy people find ways to achieve their goals as well.

 I found two positive psychology terms in 2012 that stuck with me.  From The Ultimate List Guide, the term positive prime is about surrounding yourself with constant reminders to “prime” you to reach your goals.  For example, I just received a positive prime in the mail.  I ordered a vanity plate with the words, I Coach as I recently completed my executive coaching certification program.  Every time I get in my car, I see my positive prime reminding me of my coaching goals. 

The other positive psychology term was flow from Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's.  Flow means that state of being when you are so absorbed in a task that you barely notice the passage of time.  I think that’s when your passion and your work have merged.

Both of these concepts are behaviorally focused.  It’s not enough to sit and reflect about your goals but it’s the doing that matters.  Have you seen the updated SHRM Competency model?  The model provides a roadmap to being a successful HR professional.  The first page of the competency presentation introduced the concept of Knowledge + Behavior = Success. 

It struck me immediately that again knowing without doing doesn’t equal success so we have to plan for both.  As adult learners, most of us enjoy learning when there is a doing component.  As I begin to plan my 2013 goals, I have to find ways to change behaviors.  What positive primes can I create and include that will support my goals?  Take a look at the new HR competency models and see where you want to make some changes.  Work on the knowledge first and then identify what behaviors need to be incorporated for success so you can find your flow.  I’m looking forward to a successful 2013 and feeling good about it.  Happy goal setting for 2013.

 Competency Model SHRM url: http://www.shrm.org/hrcompetencies/pages/model.aspx