BEING A GOAL KEEPER

Here we are again a few days from the end of another year. As we continue through the holiday season into New Year’s, what are your goals for your life?

Some goals are big, some goals are small, but all goals are special to the person trying to achieve them.

Is there a way to achieve your goals if you want? I think there is. With the beginning of the New Year just a few days away, now is a the perfect time to start planning your goals for the next year.

I don’t like the word resolution. That word is heavy with expectations. Rather than making a list of resolutions you won’t keep past January 31, take some time and think about some goals that you would like to set in 2021 that may lead to a happier, more fulfilling life.

Goals are not as nebulous as resolutions. Goals are something that you can plan to achieve.

We all know the acronym S.M.A.R.T. for goals given to us in the ‘80s by George Doran. That acronym works pretty good for business goals within an organization, but I personally don’t think it works too well for personal goals. You can continue to use it if you like, but I have some ideas about goal setting and goal achieving that you may also find helpful for setting and achieving personal goals.

Setting goals for personal growth requires that you take time to reflect on yourself, your life, and what you want to improve in yourself or your life. Determining what you want for your life is often the hardest part.

Some people are just not very introspective. Personal growth or self-improvement is not really on their radar. My wish is for them to learn self-introspection so that they can become happy. Happiness in life is a goal every single person on earth should have.

Why do we always set our goals or resolutions at the beginning on a new year? Most people believe that the beginning of a new year gives a fresh start. A new starting point for a new beginning. I don’t disagree with that psychological idea. A fresh start and a new year gives you a jumping off point.

I would add, though, that one of the reasons people put so much emphasis on the beginning of a new year, is that their life kind of goes into limbo around October. We all begin to plan for the holidays – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas, and New Year’s.

During October, November and December, the focus is not on your personal goals you set for yourself the past January, but rather the focus is on getting from one event to the next. Decorations, baking, dishes, Thanksgiving dinner, parties, gift buying – all of these things take up all of our spare time when we’re not working. So our life is pretty much put on hold until the holidays are over.

We feel like once we survive these 3 months, then we can regroup and refocus on ourselves and our goals in the New Year.

So, you want to be better at achieving your goals. Let’s step back and start with the basics.

What exactly is a goal? A goal is defined as “the result or achievement toward which effort is directed.” It’s something we want to achieve, so we put our energy and effort into it.

Now that we know what a goal is, what’s next? The next step is to think about your life and yourself and to decide what you want to achieve. Do you want to buy a home this year? Do you want to take a trip to Tahiti this year? Do you want to get out of debt this year? Do you want to start a YouTube channel this year? Just think about what you want for yourself and your life.

Write down your goals. Some people say prioritize them so that you work toward the most important ones first. That’s good to do, but is not an absolute requirement. Be honest with yourself on how many goals you think you can realistically achieve in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years.

Write them down by the number of years. Then take each goal, and brainstorm all of the things you can do to achieve the goal. No step is too small. If you want to, make a vision board with all the steps to achieve the goal. I’ll be honest, I’m not too keen on vision boards for myself, but I know others who live by them.

Once you’ve listed every single step you can think of, big and small, to get your to your goal, then put those in order. Start with smallest, most achievable step and go up from there. Mark off each step as you complete it. Watching those steps get marked as completed really uplifts you and motivates you to keep going.

Set yourself up a reward system. Tailor it to your personality. These are your goals and your steps, so you define the rewards. Do you need a reward after every step? Then do it. Would you rather get a reward after three steps or five steps are completed – do it. Whatever works for you.

If you get through some of your steps and get derailed, never fear. Unless you have changed your mind about achieving this goal, then don’t give up just because you get sidetracked for a while. Just continue to tell yourself that you really want to accomplish this goal, and go forward with completing the steps. Pick up where you left off.

Here’s another thought. Sometimes we think we want to achieve a certain goal, but as time goes on, maybe we think that we don’t really want to pursue it anymore.

One example would be a goal of a trip to Tahiti. Let’s say your goal is to save $2000 for the trip. You get to $1500 (yay, you!), and decide that you really no longer want to go to Tahiti. You decide to use the $1500 for new cabinets for you kitchen, or a fabulous new wardrobe.

You know what, that’s okay. Sometimes we think we want something, but realize later that we don’t really want it like we first thought. It’s your life. Live it how you want AS LONG AS YOU ARE HAPPY! Happiness is really the only thing that matters.

One final thing, also, is that goals can be set throughout the year, not just at New Year’s. Remember that. If it’s April 29, you can still set a goal to save $10 a week for a trip you want. You don’t have to scrap your goal ideas just because New Year’s came and went.

I wish you joy in setting and achieving your goals, and I wish you a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2021 be your best year yet!

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