New year, new me right? If this sounds like part of your vocabulary this year, we’re telling you that it’s entirely possible to set personal goals in 2018.
Achieving that life-long goal or dream of yours is all about following a few simple steps, having a great attitude and letting go of any fears you may have.
Identify your potential areas for growth
Setting goals are easy, but sticking to them and making them happen are the hard part. Before you go off creating crazy ambitions you’ll never actually keep, evaluate where you’re at right now and the areas in your life you’d like to improve on. Every year, there are 6 key pillars in my life that I like to focus on which include:
- Personal
- Health
- Financial
- Career
- Relationships
- Travel
Most of the time we focus on ‘the big picture’ within these pillars, but what we so often forget to do is break it down into smaller and actionable tasks. If you start to focus on the why against each pillar, it will trigger an emotional connection which will heighten your sense of awareness, meaning you’ll be proactive in your approach. Begin with the end in mind. Take this for example – if one of your goals is to ‘lose 10kg’s and run a marathon’ – good for you, but how are you actually going to do this? Breaking this down into micro-goals makes it more achievable.
Define your purpose and vision
One thing I’ve done over the years that’s helped is setting a ‘why’ against each goal. Why do you want it? What will it bring you if you achieve it? Why is it important that it becomes a priority this year? Find your ‘why’ and your vision for the future. It can be as simple as creating a Pinterest board, or starting a scrapbook so you can slowly manifest your dreams and turn them into a reality.
Set a time-frame and don’t be afraid to review your goals every few months
Know when you want to achieve this specific goal of yours and don’t forget to check in every 4 months or so to review them. If it seems you’re no way near obtaining that goal, you’ll be able to identify other solutions to help you get there. Don’t dwell on the things that may go wrong, just adjust your methods so that you’re on the right track again. Remember, it’s not a one-day fix, it takes time to achieve your goals so focus on the right things to do.
SIMILAR: 3 NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS THAT ARE ACTUALLY WORTH STICKING TO
Read a self-help book
Never picked up a self-help book in your life? Lucky for you, we love reading. Here are a couple we’ve hand-picked ourselves to get your year started the right way:
- The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin
- The Miracle Morning: the 6 habits that will transform your life before 6 AM, by Hal Elrod
- 7-Habits of highly effective people, by Stephen R Covey
- Goodbye things: the new Japanese Minimalism, by Fumio Sakasi
- The life changing magic of not giving a f*ck, by Sarah Knight
- Mindshift, by Barbara Oakley
- The four agreements: A practical guide to personal freedom, by Don Miguel Ruiz
Download useful apps to track your goals
I personally use two specific apps to keep tabs of my goals. Evernote for everyday life and note-taking and Wunderlist to turn my big goals into smaller sub-tasks and must do’s. I flick between the two frequently to remind me what sh*t needs to get done so that I’m always on top of goals for the year.
Invest in a kick-ass weekly planner
Don’t be fooled into thinking going digital is the only way. It’s not. If you’re old-school like the rest of us, opt to invest in a kick-ass weekly and yearly planner where you can write things down. When you write, you encode things more.
ALSO RELATED: JOURNALING GOT ME THROUGH 4 YEARS OF ANXIETY AND HELPED ME FIND MY PASSION
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcZD1c-lSFL/?taken-by=migoals
Find a mentor
I can’t stress this point enough. Find a mentor who has experienced and walked a similar path to you this year. Perhaps you’ve been dreaming of writing that book, or starting up that business. There are others out there who have gone before you and can offer you pearls of wisdom. Reach out to them. Contact them on LinkedIn. If you don’t ask, you don’t get, so face your fears and just go for it. As someone who has experienced first hand how it feels to have a mentor, I can safely say it was the best thing to happen for me and my career.