A new year means a fresh start and a clean slate to go after goals and make dreams a reality. Since I was young my mom always encouraged me to write down New Year’s resolutions for the year ahead, and it’s become a tradition I look forward to as I reflect on the year passed and look forward to the year ahead. However, as much as I love writing out my New Years resolutions, I have to admit, I usually write down a long wish list and never really think of it or look at until the next year on January 1st. So this year I’m trying something new by setting goals throughout the year instead of writing resolutions one day of the year, and to do this I’ve researched strategies successful people have used to set goals and achieve them. If you are setting some New Years goals for 2018, read on to learn how to set yourself up for success.
- Create goals with due dates (by when), measurable numbers (how much or how many), and as many details as possible, to have a clear vision for yourself.
- For example, don’t write: Read more books. Do write: Read 6 books (3 fiction books and 3 business books) by December 15, 2018, at 10 pm.
- Write them down and read them regularly. They say that people who write down their goals are 33% more likely to reach them than those who don’t. Three ways to do this are the following – choose one option or better yet, try all three this year:
- The most popular way to do this is to create a vision board with illustrations of what you want in your life and put it up somewhere you will see it often. Don’t know what a vision board is? Simply put, cut out photos or words from magazines of things you want in your life, and then create a collage to illustrate your dream life. When you look at this every day you want it to make you FEEL excited and grateful that these things are coming into your life, or better yet believe you already have them! Look here for a more elaborate explanation on vision boards and how to make one.
- Write one goal on a couple post-it notes and stick these goal reminders where you will see them frequently (bathroom mirror, front door, on your car dashboard, wallet, office cubical, kitchen fridge, or make it the wallpaper of your phone’s lock screen. This strategy works best when working on one goal, like saving money for your next vacation to Europe for the summer. Every time you read those post-its you’ll be thinking of your trip to Europe and be encouraged not to splurge your extra money on dining out or buying more clothes.
- The last suggestion is one I’ve been trying as I travel often, and it allows your written goals to be transportable. Write each goal on a recipe card and then on the back of each card write the next steps to reach your goal. I keep these cards in my agenda to pull out daily and have them sitting out on my desk or with me when I travel. Each card represents a goal for a different aspect of my life like health, career, fitness, family and travel.
- Once you have written down your goals somewhere, read them out at least once a day (but preferably 2-3 times a day) and imagine you have already accomplished your goal – what does it feel like to have it?! When your goals are top of mind you will be more likely to see opportunities, resources you need, meet the right people, or think up new ideas throughout the day that could help you achieve your dreams.
- Make an action plan with a timeline, so you know what to do next, and by when. Sometimes when we have a huge goal in front of us we can feel overwhelmed, and as a result, we sit on our dreams and do nothing for another year; admit it, you’ve been there. In my case, for the last six years, my goals was to start this blog, A Blissful Wanderer, but I never knew where to start so I didn’t do anything for years. Try to chunk it down your goals into actionable steps, and then set deadlines to have these steps complete.
- For example: to start my travel blog my action steps were the following: 1. Buy the domain name and set up WordPress account by January 30th, 2. Design blog layout or buy a template by March 1st, 3. Write the first blog post and take photos for it by March 15th, and so on. Breaking it down into small steps allows you to see what resources you need, and in most cases allows it to be more manageable, and less overwhelming.
- Get rid of negative self-talk, and speak to yourself like you would speak to your best friend. For example: if your best friend came to you asking if they should go after a goal, would you encourage them to do it or tell them all the reasons why they shouldn’t do it? I’m assuming/hoping you would encourage them to do it. With this being said, why are we so supportive of our friends but not ourselves? It is easy to think of all the reasons why we shouldn’t go after our goals (money, time, family, etc), but when you catch yourself in a downward spiral of “I can’t do it because…” use your conscious mind to switch into that compassionate voice you would use with your best friend. My guess is it will be a lot more supportive!
- Lastly, hold yourself accountable with a goal buddy – someone who you share your goals with – and have them check in weekly or monthly about your progress.
- For example: If your goal is to get more physically fit, and to do this you want to work out 3 days a week and make more meals at home than your goal buddy can check in weekly and see if you have reached your targets. If you haven’t reached this target multiple weeks in a row, then the next week your buddy can check in daily with friendly reminders, and better yet, offer to workout with you one day to get you on track for a successful week.
- Keep dreaming and setting new goals for yourself! Even if your goal will take longer than a month or a year, you can use these principles with any goal, big or small. Try having a goal for all aspects of your life, like health, personal development, career, fitness, friends, family and travel.
Hopefully, these steps will help you to create some exciting goals for 2018, but most importantly they will help you reach them! While dreaming up your goals remember, if you can think it, you can have it! Create goals that stretch out of your comfort zone to build a life you love.
What are you dreaming up for the year ahead? I’d love to hear it! Share your goals for the new year below and if you have any additional tips for goal setting.
Have a blissful 2018, everyone!
Love Amber from A Blissful Wanderer
xo
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