From the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

First, I would like to wish you and your families a joyous and meaningful new year. Like many of you, I always start the new year by looking forward to a fresh start, often setting personal goals for success in different areas of my life. While these may not necessarily be New Year's resolutions, they are small steps toward my desire to be a better human, make positive changes to my lifestyle, and be successful in my career.  

Did you know that our staff can assist with setting your personal goals? At Independence Alliance, setting goals for success is the foundation of our services for people with disabilities. All through the year, our staff assists consumers to identify interests, strengths, and things they want to improve as part of their Independent Living Plan (ILP). An ILP is a tool that outlines relevant goals that will help the consumer reach their desired level of independence. For example, goals can range from wanting to find accessible housing, finding employment, learning a new skill, adopting a healthier lifestyle, and so much more.  

Maybe you are ready to start 2025 by developing your Independent Living Plan with us and learning about the resources and supports available to reach your goals. We want to make sure that people with disabilities have the opportunity to achieve their goals in 2025 and beyond. I invite you to look at the Five Golden Rules for setting goals below, a quick guide to getting started. Please feel free to contact us at 513-241-2600 or submit a request for one of our staff to contact you.

As always, I enjoy your comments and insights. Please feel free to contact me by phone at 513-338-5100 and or by e-mail. Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Rob

Rob Festenstein

Executive Director

The Five Golden Rules

1. Set Goals That Motivate You

Set goals that relate to the high priorities in your life. Without this type of focus, you can end up with far too many goals, leaving you too little time to devote to each one. Goal achievement requires commitment, so to maximize the likelihood of success, you need to feel a sense of urgency and have an "I must do this" attitude.

2. Set SMART Goals

- Set Specific Goals

Your goal must be clear and well defined. Vague or generalized goals are unhelpful because they don't provide sufficient direction.

- Set Measurable Goals

Include precise amounts, dates, and so on in your goals so you can measure your degree of success. If your goal is simply defined as "To reduce expenses" how will you know when you have been successful? In one month's time if you have a 1 percent reduction or in two years' time when you have a 10 percent reduction? Without a way to measure your success you miss out on the celebration that comes with knowing you have actually achieved something.

- Set Attainable Goals

Make sure that it's possible to achieve the goals you set. If you set a goal that you have no hope of achieving, you will only demoralize yourself and erode your confidence.

- Set Relevant Goals

Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take. By keeping goals aligned with this, you'll develop the focus you need to get ahead and do what you want. Set widely scattered and inconsistent goals, and you'll fritter your time – and your life – away.

- Set Time-Bound Goals

Your goals must have a deadline. Again, this means that you know when you can celebrate success. When you are working on a deadline, your sense of urgency increases and achievement will come that much quicker.

3. Set Goals in Writing

The physical act of writing down a goal makes it real and tangible. You have no excuse for forgetting about it. As you write, use the word "will" instead of "would like to" or "might." For example, "I will reduce my operating expenses by 10 percent this year," not "I would like to reduce my operating expenses by 10 percent this year." The first goal statement has power and you can "see" yourself reducing expenses, the second lacks passion and gives you an excuse if you get sidetracked.

4. Make an Action Plan

This step is often missed in the process of goal setting. You get so focused on the outcome that you forget to plan all of the steps that are needed along the way. By writing out the individual steps, and then crossing each one off as you complete it, you'll realize that you are making progress towards your ultimate goal. This is especially important if your goal is big and demanding, or long-term.

5. Stick With It!

Remember, goal setting is an ongoing activity, not just a means to an end. Build in reminders to keep yourself on track, and make regular time-slots available to review your goals. Your end destination may remain quite similar over the long term, but the action plan you set for yourself along the way can change significantly. Make sure the relevance, value, and necessity remain high.