Win in 2010: Picking Your Team

This is the fourth in a six part series called Win in 2010 designed to help readers stick to their goals and make the most out of the New Year.

You remember grade school? When it came time to pick teams for kickball or softball, all the best players got picked first and then we chose everyone else. In life, we often don’t pick our teams. We stick with the family, the co-workers and the friends that we have, for better and for worse. When it comes to goal-setting, selecting the members of your team is a critical component to your success.

Ideally, you should have a team in place for each goal. Your team should consist of people who have the resources, the knowledge and the desire to see you succeed. Want to go back to school? Your sister-in-law, the guidance counselor, could be a great source of information for potential schools. You want to lose weight or just get fit. Well, your neighbor walks religiously every evening and would love to have your company. Maybe your best friend is just an excellent shoulder for you to cry on when things get tough.

Consider who you will need to help make your goal a reality. Who will hold you accountable? Who has the information you need? Who will help you? Also consider the flip side. Who might sabotage your success? Who will be more of a hindrance than a help?

These are important questions because often times, the people we feel should be in our corner, unfortunately aren’t. Maybe your mother doesn’t understand why you want to lose weight. She likes you the way you are. Your best friend loves to shop and doesn’t see why you need to cut back on your spending to save money. While these people play a special and significant role in your life (and always will), when it comes to your goals, you need to find some other people who want you to succeed and will help you reach your goals.

Once you have these people, let them know that they are on your team and what you need from them. For example, when it comes to school, use your sister-in-law, the guidance counselor, for information about schools, applications and financial aid. Your brother started grad school last year and you could learn from his experiences. You need your mom, your babysitter and your husband to help out with the kids and the scheduling because you will have to have time for classes and studying. When you get discouraged, you need your best friend and your husband to give you the pep talk. That’s your ‘school team.’

Since your best friend is a shopper, you trade her with one of your more frugal friend who is a whiz with budgeting and finding good deals for your ‘budget team’. Your neighbor isn’t a close friend but you pick her to help you in your weight loss goal because she’s such an avid walker.

No one succeeds alone, so surround yourself with people who make your success irresistible and inevitable.