This is How to Set Goals for the New Year

Where do you see yourself in ten, five years? Better still what do you expect to have achieved by next year, 2017 since we’d be entering a new year pretty much soon?

Around this time of the year, many people begin to plan or make statements concerning new year resolutions. I think it should be an all year round affair. Whether they achieve this or not is another blog post for a different day.

The point here is that it feels more like a norm to plan, set goals, and try to be a different person for a new year. To become a better version of yourself. To be the best you ever imagined you could be, or if not so, to at least try to achieve such height of perfection and growth.

The painful truth is that this may not seem feasible if the plans, goals, or resolution isn’t realistic or well thought out.

Tell you what, a few months back I got pranked or better put: frightened out of my skin! I swore I was going to retaliate, not like it was a first-time event or even ever going to be the last anyway.

You can find the video HERE. I remembered just yesterday that I haven’t actually prepared ‘the master plan’ to revenge. *lol* If you want to see the video and have a good laugh, follow me on Instagram and feel free to watch the video. I know you’d laugh so hard!

This seems like a silly goal to set, though: retaliate and scare someone. That aside, I have other goals in line and this is just for plain fun if you know what I mean!

Goal settings help keep you on track and focus; it’s also a guideline to help evaluate if you are actually successful at accomplishing your goals.

So here are tips to help you set goals and resolutions for next year. These tips have helped me in the past to achieve previous goals; I keep tweaking here and there depending on the situation at hand.

1. Your goals should motivate you

Set goals that stimulate and inspire you. Goals that make you happy and will keep you happy even in the future. Goals that you are proud to share with friends no matter how little. You also need to realize that while setting goals, you should set them in order of top priority.

Ask yourself if the goal is worth it. Is it realistic? Does it motivate you to want to achieve it? Can you tell your friends and family about it? Are you proud of that goal? You want to write it down so that you have a fair grasp of what you want to delve into.

2. Set SMART goals

It’s not new to hear about SMART goals but let me add my 2 cents on this, based on my perspective.

This is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable or achievable, relevant and time-bound.

• Specific:

You should have a clear goal(s) in mind for 2017. You should be certain of what you want. It shouldn’t be general so that you are sure about it. That’s why I recommend you write out your goals so that you can also visualize it. Example: to write a certification examination.

• Measurable:

You should be able to measure your goals based on dates, time lags, periods, or statistics. For example, if you plan on writing a certification example, then you should have a time frame in mind that you can work with. This will help you ensure that you are certified by that date. It keeps you on track.

• Attainable or Achievable:

Your goal should be something that you see the possibility of happening. Don’t set a goal expecting it to happen in 2 weeks when it will normally take 2 years to achieve. You don’t want to lose confidence in yourself when you get the slightest hint that you can’t accomplish the goal. In the same way, try to make your goals challenging so that it is not so easy. Like I said in the first point, you really want your goals to motivate and inspire you. You want it to be something you long for.

• Relevant

Your goals for 2017 should be relevant to your personal improvement or career. It should be relevant to you. It should be realistic. The goals you decide to set for the new year shouldn’t be inconsistent with your overall success in life. It should be in tune with your life as a whole and the direction you want your life to take.

• Time bound

This simply means that you should have a time frame or deadline in mind. You need this to keep you on your toes to achieve set goals. You need this to celebrate victory after achievement.

3. Write out goals

I find that writing out targets or goals go a long way in reiterating the fact that it’s a goal worth accomplishing. There is just something about handwritten notes for me. Some people think I am way too archaic or living in the 80s but oh well, whatever rocks my boat!

I love notes. I love scribbling and it just keeps me in check. I recently learned there was something called ‘bullet journaling‘. I didn’t even know there was a name for that previously because I’ve been doing that for years although a little bit different.

I got another scribble note a little while back for 2017 because I hope to be better organized by next year compared to this year (we all want to get better, right!). But for the most part, I think a scribble pad is the cheapest investment you can get yourself to achieve a goal. Just get one that’s not too big or heavy so that you can have it with you at all times and it won’t be a burden. You also don’t want one that’s too little that you can barely read or write much on.

Some people say write on a paper and paste it on the walls. They are of the idea that seeing it every day will remind you of your goals and keep you focused. I’ll try this one out. It’s quite practical I believe.

On the other hand, you could just get a white board and marker, place it somewhere conspicuous, and write out plans. I think this may work out well if you are not a paper and pen person like I am. You can always wipe it out and restrategize. You could make a flow chart instead -again, whatever rocks your boat!

4. Plan

Writing out goals isn’t enough. You need to plan how to achieve these goals. So again, for the certification example, you may need to pay a course fee, buy books, take classes, and sit for the examination to get certified. This takes planning as you may need to save up for the exam, decide on a reading schedule if needed, and so on.

The planning stage is crucial to the success of your goals.

Patience is also needed to accomplish goals and you need to stay put with your goals and plans to accomplish your objectives, achieve goals, or stick to your new year resolution as may be the case.

What are your goals for 2017? Have you set out plans already? Oh, and do you have a resolution for the new year? Do you still do that? Would love to hear from you.

P.S. I hope this post wasn’t too long, I try to keep blog posts as brief as possible.

Happy holidays and good luck with your goals!

Photo credit: Bonninstudio/Westend61/Corbis

 Zinny Factor  Zinnyify  Zinnyify Zinnyify  Bloglovin’