It is in the nature of humans to want to achieve things, have you ever found yourself making a list at the beginning of a new year full of dreams and expectations in your heart? There is nothing more satisfying than setting yourself a goal and achieving it! At the same time there is nothing more discouraging and frustrating than setting yourself a goal and giving up on it.
This year I want to give you some tips in goal setting, so you can reach what was born in your heart for this new year! Most of the goals people don’t achieve are either unrealistic, unimportant to the person or simply not their own goal but someone else’s.
When the goals you set for yourself are your own, reflect who you are and who you want to become and are a part of something you really value, there is little margin of error if you really stick to it. But let me help you with this and hopefully I will help you change your perspective and that thing you really want to reach this year, will look a little less impossible.
Big Picture
When we think of goals we usually think of longterm success, but the best use you can give to goal setting is to make them small steps towards something big. A big picture, a vision, will keep you inspired when single results seem impossible.
Who do you want to become? Where do you see yourself this year? In 5 years?
Make goals that will lead you to that. Allow yourself to dream and imagine what can be done, who you can become and what you can contribute in the life of other’s this year.
Values
What you value affects absolutely everything you do, it helps you set your priorities and decide where you will invest your energy, time, resources and creativity. I’ve made the mistake before of setting myself goals that I truly didn’t care about. For example, I love eating, and even though I value my health, the Instagram fit life is not something that I would die for. So the year I decided to have a six-pack just because I thought it was cool, I ended up feeling defeated at the end of the year, but on the inside I truly didn’t care if I reached this goal or not.
Make sure that the goals you set for yourself are based on things you really value, may that’s generosity, family, your job, or maybe fitness and outer beauty, all of these are valid, but make sure they are your own goals that are born out of you personal convictions.
General Goals
There are two types of goals you should be working with and one of them are general goals. A common mistake people make is to treat these as if they were concrete goals. A general goal tells you the destination you want to reach, and concrete goals (the other type) are the small steps that take you towards that destination.
For example, people who want to become more organised, usually write exactly that in their goals: “Be more organised”. The problem with this goal is that it doesn’t give you any clue on how to get there. So first of all write down some general goals and after that let’s break them down to concrete small steps.
Concrete Small Steps
Nobody was born a champion, everything requires discipline, willingness, practice and a lot of work. So, after you have written the things you want to achieve as a general guideline, you can break it down into small action steps that you can apply everyday so in a long term period you reach what you desire.
Lets use the previous example of “Being more organised”, some small steps you could take to achieve that could be:
- Divide your day in time for rest, work, and various activities.
- Get yourself a calendar and start writing down your weekly appointments or daily activities.
- Start making to do lists.
- Ask a friend who is very organised to give you some tips in splitting your time and energy wisely.
Whatever goal you have in mind, can be broken down to small steps, and the good thing about small steps is that you achieve them every day, so this will help you have a feel of realisation along the way.
Make sure you set realistic goals, the point is not to be perfect, or to reach all your life goals in a year, but it is to see progress in your life. If you take one step, you are still further than when you started and definitely further than where you would’ve stayed if you did nothing.
So what are your goals for 2018? Dare to dream big and step out of your comfort zone to see growth in your life!
