Goal Setting for the New Year

What are your New Year's Resolutions? I cannot be the only person that fears this question. Most years I do like to set goals for the new year, but I'd rather not reveal them to the barista at the local Starbucks, you know what I mean? Yet, so many people like to ask that question as we approach year's end...

First off, you are in no way obligated to tell ANYONE what your goals or resolutions are, YOU know what they are and aren't and you know who you are. That's what matters. Also maybe, just maybe, you struggle with where to even start when writing your goals for the new year. If you are that person, this is for you. When setting goals, it's important to start with a few things...

What do you Want?

Start by considering what you want. Close your eyes and imagine yourself one year from now. Where do you want to be? What do you want your life to look like? How do you want to feel? Once you figure out what you want out of 2020, it becomes increasingly more clear what your goals should be...

Be Specific

If your goals are general, you are much LESS likely to accomplish them. The more specific your goals, the more likely you are to accomplish them. Read that again. I cannot stress enough the important of being specific with your goals. If you're wishy-washy about what your goals are, you'll be wishy-washy about achieving them.

Give Yourself a Timeline

Get clear on WHEN you want to have your goal accomplished and then break down what needs to be done along the way to accomplish that goal. For example, if your goal is to lose 20 pounds by June, but you don't give yourself a timeline, you might wait until April to start losing weight. Imagine trying to lose 10 pounds a month for 2 months after you've gone 3-4 months doing whatever you want. Does that sound realistic to you? The alternative, create monthly benchmarks to lose 4 pounds a month for 5 months, or 1 pound per week. That's MUCH more manageable.

Be Realistic

Ask yourself, can I realistically accomplish this goal in the allotted time? The weight loss goal I mentioned above is a great example of making a realistic goal unrealistic if you don't plan ahead... Goals can also be unrealistic if they're not attainable. An example of this might be a goal to go to the moon. If you're 18 and have no background in aerospace, that goal is pretty unrealistic. So when setting goals, ask yourself, is this realistic?

Are you Committed?

Now that you have your goal set and written out, ask yourself whether you are truly committed to achieving your goal. If you're not committed, it won't get done. It's that simple. Your goals need to be something you want, something specific with a timeline, something realistic and something that you are genuinely committed to accomplishing.

I hope this has been helpful in you setting your goals for 2020. I will be posting my 2020 goals later on so be on the lookout for what I am committed to accomplish in the New Year!