Heading into the New Year, everyone is gearing up for new goals! Fresh starts and recovered minds will be ready to start taking on 2023 enthusiastically. Personally, we don’t do the whole, “New Year’s Resolution” thing. Instead, we make a list of goals for the year. They usually consist of 10-12 things. Some of the goals are ongoing. Some are single item goals and we cross those out as we achieve them throughout the year. We’ve always thought this was a much better way to begin the year and it helps you stay on track better than choosing just one thing. Once we make our list, we type it up, print it out and stick it on the fridge so we look at it every day. There’s no better way to help you achieve your goals then to have them stare you in the face every morning, let me tell you! To be honest, we usually only hit about half of them and that’s ok. Six goals achieved are better than one failed resolution. In honor of this tradition, we thought we’d share it with you and some ways to help you set achievable goals for this brand New Year..
1. Use the SMART model. Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Those goals that are ongoing you can obviously skip the timely part.
2. You must write it down! We cannot stress this one enough! Like we said, print it out and stick it on your fridge.
3. Believe in the journey. Sometimes the goal is great but the journey to getting there is even better. Don’t get overly fixated on a goal.
4. Keep yourself accountable. Tell other people. You may need someone to help keep you accountable. Do whatever it takes to keep yourself in check.
5. Don’t be scared to ask for help. Sometimes goals can be big and sometimes you cannot do it alone. That’s ok! Ask for help. Family, friends, find a mentor.
6. Constantly assess your progress. This is another good reason to have that list on your fridge. You’ll see it every day. Where are you on your goals? Have you checked any off? What can you be doing to get closer to them?
We hope you had a wonderful New Year celebration and look forward to the new beginning ahead. We know we are. What new adventures await? What will the year bring? We always get very excited about this special process of goal setting as we let go of the past year and move full steam ahead!
