Well, it’s that time of year again – a time to look back on what you’ve accomplished this past year and to look forward to what you’d like to accomplish next year. It’s an exciting time, a time to get a fresh start.
While I don’t like the terminology of a “New Year’s Resolution,” I am a huge fan of setting goals. It’s basically the same thing, but the goals should be specific and not limited to only setting them up at the beginning of the year, whereas many resolutions are vague and only happen once per year.
There are several categories which you should have goals for. They are goals with your family, your spiritual connection/community involvement, your physical health, intellectual health, career-oriented goals, financial goals, and social goals.
So, if we are setting goals in the seven key areas of our lives, the question now becomes, how do we know what goals to set? And how do we set ourselves up to actually achieve these goals?
1) Start with the end in mind. If you haven’t decided on what you’re working towards or why you’re working towards that goal, you’re going to end up with mediocre results. You have to know what you want and have a strong enough “why” to persevere through the tough times to achieve your goal.
The end goal is like the destination on a map. If you know where you want to go, you can look at the map to see the quickest route to get there, and then take that route. Without knowing where you want to go, the map is useless.
Using another analogy, the end goal is the picture on the box of the 1000 piece puzzle you have to put together. Without seeing what final picture looks like, it’s going to be near impossible to get that desired result.
2) After you’ve determined what your goal is, you’ll probably need to fine-tune it. The next thing that you’ll need to do is make sure that it is specific. If you have a vague goal, you will not be clear on what it takes to achieve your goals.
3) Make sure that your goal is measurable. You should be able to track your progress…if you can’t quantify your goal, it’s probably not a well-written goal.
4) Set up “check-ins” to see how you are progressing towards your goals at least once per quarter (ideally you’ll have weekly or monthly check-ins, while keeping your goals front of mind daily).
If you’re like me, you might be a procrastinator. But if you’ve set the correct yearly goals, it will be too late to hit those goals if you start working towards them in November. If you are able to hit those goals in a month, then you know two things: a) that you’re capable of anything if you set your mind to it; and b) that you didn’t set lofty enough yearly goals if you can achieve them within one month of focused attention.
5) Have an accountability partner. Tell someone your goals. Or split it up where you tell a different person a goal from one of your spokes on the wheel of life and ask them if they are willing to hold you accountable to reaching those goals. Let them know how important it is for you to reach those goals, why it is important, and give them permission to call you out if you’re off track from hitting those goals.
That’s basic goal-setting in a nutshell. Now go out there, set up some goals, and figure out how you’re going to achieve them to make 2020 your best year yet!